ITV

Tag: NDTV

  • TV Today scrip up 15% on market buzz of Birla Group taking stake in promoter company

    TV Today scrip up 15% on market buzz of Birla Group taking stake in promoter company

    MUMBAI: TV Today Network shares Monday climbed 15.23 per cent on the market buzz that Aditya Birla Group is picking up 25 per cent stake in Living Media India (India Today Group), the Indian media conglomerate that holds interests in magazines, television, radio, printing and the Internet.

    Shares of TV Today Network, which runs a clutch of news channels including Aaj Tak and Headlines Today, closed at Rs 68.10 on the BSE.

    Indiantelevision.com could not verify the news. Senior officials of the company, including CEO Ashish Bagga, could not be reached.

    LMI owns 57.1 per cent stake in TV Today Network, according to data available till 31 December 2011.

    NDTV shares also got a lift, climbing 9.4 per cent to close at Rs 48.90.

    The BSE Sensex shed 1.51 per cent, or 264 points to close Monday at 17,222.14 due to banks, metals and capital goods stocks.

  • Murdoch set to exit TV news biz in India

    Murdoch set to exit TV news biz in India

    MUMBAI: Rupert Murdoch is set to exit the television news business in India. Star India will sell its entire 26 per cent stake in Media Content & Communications Services (MCCS), the company that owns and operates three news channels, as it shares a rocky relationship with joint venture partner Ananda Bazaar Patrika (ABP) Group.

    Star will not look at any other Indian partner including NDTV till the regulatory climate allows for more foreign direct investment (FDI) into the news sector.

    “Star and ABP could split in June-July if matters are thrashed out by then as the relationship between the two partners has turned sour. It looks like ABP Group, which has 74 per cent holding in MCCS, will buy out Star’s stake,” a source familiar with the development said.

    Star India CEO Uday Shankar refused to comment on the issue.

    The divorce will mean that the ‘Star’ logo will be taken out of the Hindi, Bengali and Marathi news channels. ABP is likely to retain the Ananda brand in Bengali while the Marathi channel may continue with the Majha title. Star News, the flagship Hindi news channel of the JV, will have to be entirely renamed, though the buzz is that the Ananda brand may run common across the channels.

    Star News was launched in March 2004, a year after MCCS was formed, followed by Star Ananda (Bengali) in June 2005 and Star Majha (Marathi) in June 2007.

    The first strains came to public notice when ABP Group launched a Bengali general entertainment channel in July 2011 to compete against Star Jalsha (launched in September 2008). The JV partners have also been fighting over editorial and strategic issues.

    “Star had no control over the running of the organisation. It makes no sense for them to continue with the JV. It is a matter of time but not clear yet whether there will be a slightly longer cooling period,” said the source.

    Star has an ad sales and distribution arrangement with NDTV, which competes in the Hindi space with Star News. “The cracks widened when Star inked a pact with NDTV to handle its ad sales in April 2011. MCCS is in charge of ad sales for its own channels,” the source averred. In 2010, NDTV shifted its distribution from TheOneAlliance to Star Den, a JV between Star and Den.

    So is Star going to pick up equity in NDTV or is “the man who owns the news” going to give up TV news in India? “Star feels that the whole economics of the TV news business in India is not working. You either invest in any business with the hope of making money in future or you look at it as a strategic value. If you are not in the driver’s seat or have no significant say in the running of the operations, it doesn’t make strategic sense at all,” a source said.

    NDTV was earlier the sole news content provider and producer for Star News till Dr Prannoy Roy launched his own news channels in 2003.

    MCCS has operationally broken even since FY’11, from its loss of around Rs 60 million in the earlier year on a revenue of Rs 2.13 billion, according to market estimates. The FY’09 loss is estimated to have been Rs 460 million on a revenue of Rs 1.81 billion. The cumulative loss stood at around Rs 2.6 billion till FY’10, estimates suggest.

    In an emailed reply, MCCS CEO Ashok Venkatramani said, “We are a closely held private Ltd company and our financials are not in the public domain. So I would not like to respond to any of your questions.”

    Market sources say MCCS’ revenue has touched Rs 2.6 billion and it is an operationally profitable company now.

  • Dangerous trends in TV news broadcast

    Dangerous trends in TV news broadcast

    NEW DELHI: Talk shows, personality-driven news channels, outraged journalism and populist pressures tailoring news content. These are some of the dangerous trends visible in television news broadcasting across the globe.

    The TV news industry is, indeed, going through a tough phase as losses mount and ratings decide the revenue fortunes of channels, forcing content to become trivial, mediocre and commoditised to have mass appeal.

    Speaking at the 5th News Television Summit, TV Today Network news director QW Naqvi candidly admitted that content that should never have found space sometimes got carried on news channels due to commercial pressures.

    The taste of viewers has also changed. “We should stop looking from our own perspective. Content keeps changing and we have to keep changing,” said Naqvi.

    A bigger danger looms ahead when feedback from social media starts getting used by TV news journalists to decide on what kind of content they should be chasing. “We will fall prey to populistic pressures if we start covering stories the way our Twitter or other social media followers want us to,” Naqvi warned.

    Agreed IBN18 Network Editor-in-Chief Rajdeep Sardesai. “I wouldn’t mind leaving space for entertainment and other kinds of news. But imagine what it will be like if we start yielding to populist pressure when we are dealing with serious and sensitive issues like India-Pakistan relationship,” he said.

    There is still, however, space for quality content. “Digitisation, hopefully, will allow space for premium content. In the current model, distribution cost is hurting us badly. Content is getting sacrificed in the process. There is very little of content differentiation,” said Sardesai.

    Commenting on content differentiation, NDTV Group Editor- English News, NDTV, NDTV 24×7 Barkha Dutt said the news channels will become more personality-oriented in future.

    Lamenting the deterioration in news, Dutt said she would probably have not joined the TV news medium if she had known how badly the standards would slip. She said that being the first generation of TV journalists, she didn’t join it for glamour.

    Sardesai admitted that journalists have stopped doing their homework. Quoting the example of the “Norway kids case” where every news channel blamed the government of that country, he said that no journalist cared to do the background check. He added that outrage is not journalism and suggested that journalists should keep a balance.

    On the use of social media, the panellists adopted a cautionary stance. While Dutt said that she sometimes used it as a lead, Naqvi pointed out that there is need to differentiate between news and non-news.

    The challenge will be to provide news through different platforms. Said Sardesai, “With social media, TV medium has to reinvent like print did. In about 12 months’ time, people will come to know the news headlines via social media. They will tend to come to TV for opinions.”

    CNN International chief of bureau South Asia Phillip Turner said that TV news is an exciting medium and is not going to be dead as predicted by many.

    Talking about the regional scenario, TV9 Kannada and News9 director Mahendra Mishra said in regional markets, especially in South India, there are many channels backed by politicians or people with deep pockets who have money to waste. “The main motive of the channels is to gain power and influence and not necessarily run a profitable business,” he averred.

  • Aaj Tak, NDTV, Discovery emerge as most trusted TV brands

    Aaj Tak, NDTV, Discovery emerge as most trusted TV brands

    MUMBAI: TV Today’s flagship Hindi news channel, Aaj Tak, has emerged as the most trusted brand across the television as well as news channel category, according to the Brand Trust Report unveiled recently.

    New Delhi-based news network NDTV has come second as the most trusted television brand followed by Discovery channel, which is at the third spot in the overall television category and first in the ‘other’ category.

    The top ten listing consists of as many as three general entertainment channels including Zee TV at fourth spot, Star at sixth spot, and Colors at seventh spot. Food lifestyle channel Food Food TV has climbed tenth spot in the first year of its launch.

    Sun TV is the only channel from South to make it to the list of 40 most trusted television brands. Kaun Banega Crorepati, which made a successful comeback last year with its larger-than-life host Amitabh Bachchan, is the only television programme to figure in the Top 40 list, which mainly comprises news, infotainment and movies channels among others.

    Among the GEC’s, TLC Travel & Living has emerged as the numero uno brand followed by Colors in a list that comprises 13 channels including Star TV, Food Food and MTV who share the third, fourth and fifth position respectively. At the bottom of the heap is Hindi comedy channel from MSM stable, Sab TV.

    The English movies sub-category is shared by Star Movies and HBO at first and second spot respectively while the sports sub-category is dominated by ESPN Star Sports network channels – ESPN and Star Sports.

    Similarly, in the ‘channel cluster‘ category, Star Network, UTV Group (now bought by Walt Disney) and Zee Network have taken the top three spots. In ‘other’ sub-category, Discovery followed by Disney are the top two brands. Others include National Geographic channel, History channel and KBC.

    The news sub-category was dominated by Hindi, English and business channels with none of regional languages making it to the top 15 list. American news broadcaster CNN and British pubcaster BBC also finished in the final list.

    The Brand Trust Report (BTR), compiled and released annually, includes the BTR questionnaire which is designed to illuminate approximately 425 aspects of brand trust, of which 391 were directly brand related.

    The study also questioned respondents about two other important brand trust influencers – brand recall and the trust-experience of brands, the latter of which they were requested to furnish reasons for. This year‘s research was conducted among 2718 ‘influencer‘ respondents across 15 cities.

    The study generated nearly two million data points and 17,000 brands and was conducted across 15 cities. Indian Statistical Institute helped create a statistically robust Brand Trust Index which has been used to hierarchically rank India‘s brands on the basis of trust.

    The BTR report is published by Trust Research Advisory, which is a part of Comniscient Group.

  • NDTV limits news biz net loss to Rs 23.9 mn in Q3

    NDTV limits news biz net loss to Rs 23.9 mn in Q3

    MUMBAI: Dr Prannoy Roy-promoted NDTV Ltd’s television news channel business has posted a net loss of Rs 23.9 million for the quarter ended 31 December. This is against a standalone net loss of Rs 170.8 million the company had posted during the year-ago period.

    NDTV, which operates news channels NDTV 24X7 (English), NDTV India (Hindi) and NDTV Profit (English business), saw a marginal increase in the income from operations (4.24 per cent) to Rs 1.01 billion as against Rs 964.8 million a year ago.

    Expenses stayed flat at Rs 997.7 million (from Rs 972.2 million a year ago).

    The company posted a profit from operations (before other income, interest & exceptional items) of Rs 23.9 million, as against loss of Rs 2.5 million during the year ago period.

    On a consolidated basis, NDTV has posted a net loss of Rs 60.5 million, as against a net loss of Rs 148.4 million in the year-ago period.

    Operating loss of the company narrowed to Rs 39.8 million from Rs 72.8 million in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal.

    Income from operations stood at Rs 1.26 billion, up from Rs 1.14 billion a year ago. Expenses during the quarter were Rs 1.30 billion, up from Rs 1.22 billion.

  • TV18, NDTV sweep largest tally of Ramnath Goenka Awards

    TV18, NDTV sweep largest tally of Ramnath Goenka Awards

    NEW DELHI: The exposure of the 2G Spectrum scam, which has rocked the nation for the past two years, is largely due to the efforts of some journalists who refused to bow before authority and persistently continued their investigations.

    J Gopikrishnan, Special Correspondent of ‘The Pioneer’ has received the Ramnath Goenka Journalist of the Year award for his investigative series on the scam that brought the irregularities to light, and his meticulous follow-ups that ensured the story stayed on the front burner.

    CNBC-TV18 managing editor Udayan Mukherjee won this award in the broadcast sector for his insightful interpretation of the market and its movements as lead anchor, and his coverage of the 2008 financial crisis in India.

    The awards were given away by Vice President M Hamid Ansari at a function in the capital.
    The TV18 group – CNN-IBN, CNBC-TV18, and IBN Lokmat – and NDTV won as many as five awards each. In the print media, the Indian Express won four awards while the Mint and Business Today won two each

    About 30 other journalists in print and the electronic media from all over the country received the RNG Excellence in Journalism Awards.

    Arijit Sen, CNN-IBN, received it for reporting from Jammu and Kashmir and the Northeast for reports on fake encounters in Manipur and the plight of a people caught between militants and the state. Hridayesh Joshi, NDTV India, was awarded for series tracing influence of India on Chinese culture and profiling successful Indians in China.

    The award to Prakash Noolvi of TV9 was given for an investigative story on the continuing Devdasi tradition in a region in Karnataka.

    For Environmental Reporting, Arti Kulkarni of IBN Lokmat was awarded for a report on illegal mining in a tiger reserve in Maharashtra.

    The award for Uncovering India Invisible went to Shikha Trivedy of NDTV 24×7 for a story on women who joined the Naxal movement.

    Shaili Chopra of ET NOW received the award for Business and Economic Journalism for reports on the economic crisis and candid interviews with key players.

    Anubha Bhonsle of CNN-IBN with the show ‘Paisa Power Politics’ exposing the relationship between those who fight elections and those who fund it received the award for reporting on Politics and Government.

    Maya Mirchandani of NDTV 24×7 got the award for her interview with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in his constituency and for her report on the PM’s meeting with Pakistani President Asif Zardari in Russia.

    In Sports Journalism, the award went to Anjali Doshi of NDTV 24×7 for giving a peep into what cricketers do on tours when they are not playing.

    Archana Sharma of Lok Sabha TV won the award for her programme ‘Honslon ki Udaan’ for her story on visual effects in Bollywood and how the industry is growing.

    Preeti Singh of CNN-IBN got the On-the-Spot Reporting award for her coverage of the floods in Andhra Pradesh, while the Investigative Reporting award went to Rajat Kain of NDTV India for exposing a flourishing gun culture in the heart of Delhi.

    In the print medium awards, the award for Reporting from J&K and the Northeast went to Teresa Rehman of Tehelka for her story on a chilling shootout in Imphal.

    Anshuman Tiwari of Dainik Jagran won the award for highlighting how Delhi was not ready for the Commonwealth Games.

    V P Rejeena of Madhyamam Daily received the award for showing how a village in Kerala has become a city’s dumping ground, while the award for Environmental Reporting went to

    Rahul Chandawarkar of DNA for reporting the environmental degradation in hill stations of Mahabaleshwar, Panchgani.

    Samanth Subramanian of Mint was awarded for the series ‘Unholy Waters’, chronicling the decline of Ganga as it flows through Varanasi, while the award for Uncovering India Invisible went to Maitreyee Handique of the same newspaper for exposing how industries continue to flout safety regulations.

    Puja Mehra of Business Today got the Business and Economic Journalism award for her story on how a dip in confidence was causing Indian consumers to spend less, while Saumya Bhattacharya of the same publication got it for her story on how employees and employers were coping with layoffs.

    For Reporting on Politics and Government, the award went to Maneesh Chhibber of The Indian Express for breaking the Liberhan Commission report on the demolition of the Babri Masjid and his coverage of the Law Ministry.

    Sujith Nair of Malayala Manorama got the award for his story on an official gag order on the media that forced the V S Achuthanandan government to backtrack.

    In Sports Journalism, the award went to G S Vivek of The Indian Express for his coverage of the second edition of the Indian Premier League in South Africa.

    In film and television Journalism, senior critic Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express was awarded for her incisive reports on the world of films and for her comprehensive and witty film reviews.

    Sonal Kalra of HT City received the honour for a series featuring the five most powerful Bollywood couples in their homes.

    Muzamil Jaleel of The Indian Express got the On-the-Spot Reporting award for his coverage of the last days of the Lankan government’s war against the LTTE; while The Indian Express Team won the Investigative Reporting award for a 12-part series that investigated the glaring gaps in the response to the 26/11 Mumbai attacks.

    James Astill of The Economist won the Foreign Correspondent Covering India award for his perceptive and prescient reporting and commentary on India: from its water politics to the Maoist insurgency.

  • NDTV news biz net loss reduces as revenue up 19%

    NDTV news biz net loss reduces as revenue up 19%

    MUMBAI: Even amidst the sign of slowdown, NDTV‘s news business has seen an 18.99 per cent jump in the revenues in the quarter ended 30 September.

    The standalone income from operations stood at Rs 810.9 million, as compared to Rs 681.5 million in the corresponding quarter of previous fiscal. It is pertinent to note that NDTV had handed over its ad sales management to Star India in the first quarter of the fiscal.

    NDTV, meanwhile, has curtailed its standalone net loss to Rs 107 million for the three-month period ended 30 September, compared with a net loss of Rs 342.7 million. 
       
    In the trailing quarter, however, the company had posted a net profit of Rs 98.1 million, as it took into account a dividend income of Rs 191 million from a subsidiary, NDTV One Holdings, and other operating income of Rs 71.7 million due to another subsidiary arm.

    In the quarter under review, NDTV suffered a loss from operations (before other income, interest & exceptional items) of Rs 160.7 million, compared to a loss of Rs 298.3 million a year ago.

    Expenses were kept in check and stood at Rs 983.1 million (from Rs 1.01 billion).

    NDTV operates news channels NDTV 24X7 (English), NDTV India (Hindi) and NDTV Profit (English business).

    On a consolidated basis, NDTV posted a net loss of Rs 220 million as against Rs 676.3 million in the year-ago period.

    Operating loss of the company narrowed to Rs 190 million from Rs 660 million in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal.

    NDTV‘s total consolidated income jumped 32 per cent to Rs 1.14 billion, as compared to Rs 860 million a year ago. Expenses during the quarter fallen to Rs 1.33 billion, from Rs 1.52 billion.

    NDTV had along with JV partner Kasturi and Sons, entered into an agreement with “Educational Trust Company Private Limited” for the sale of 100 per cent of their respective stakes in Metro Nation Chennai Television Limited for a consideration aggregating Rs150 million. Accordingly, the company disclosed that during the quarter, the Company has provided for doubtful debts and advances amounting to Rs 23 million and has written back provision for diminution in value of investment amounting to Rs 52 million, which has been shown as an “Exceptional item”.

    Meanwhile, as part of the continuing process of simplification of the structure of the company‘s international holdings, NDTV (Mauritius) Media Limited has been merged with NDTV One Holdings Limited with effect from 30 September 2011. Further on 29 July 2011, the Company acquired 90.91 per cent stake in NDTV Worldwide Limited.

    Consequently, NDTV Worldwide Limited has become a 100 per cent subsidiary of NDTV. On 31 October, the Board of Directors of NDTV (Mauritius) Multimedia Limited and NDTV Worldwide Mauritius Limited, have approved the merger of NDTV Worldwide Mauritius Limited with NDTV (Mauritius) Multimedia Limited, NDTV disclosed.

  • Barkha to head NDTV’s editorial board, Sonia to oversee ethics committee

    Barkha to head NDTV’s editorial board, Sonia to oversee ethics committee

    MUMBAI: Pursuing “independent journalism” and “credible reporting”, NDTV said Friday it has formed two independent groups – NDTV Editorial Board and The Ethics Committee.

    Barkha Dutt has been named as the president of the Editorial Board while Sonia Singh is president of the Ethics committee. Dutt wa earlier designated as NDTV group editor (English channels), while
    Singh was senior managing editor.

    “Both the groups will ensure regular and continuous oversight on all editorial and ethical matters,” NDTV said.
       
    The Editorial Board with Radhika Roy as the chairperson will be responsible for all standards and matters editorial across NDTV.

    “The aim of the Editorial Board is to take regular steps and pre-emptive action on the more complex issues that arise in the editorial direction for NDTV as well as be a focal point for answering
    any queries or complaints on editorial matters raised from within and outside NDTV,” the company said.

    Meanwhile, the Ethics Committee will develop consistent standards and oversee all ethical issues across the organisation. The committee will report into the Compliance Committee chaired by Radhika Roy.

  • Contesting a monthly ratings system for news channels

    Contesting a monthly ratings system for news channels

    MUMBAI/NEW DELHI: Television news broadcasters are pressuring for a monthly ratings system that will free their content from being weighed on a weekly basis, but advertising agencies do not seem to be in agreement.

    News Broadcasters Association (NBA), an umbrella body of TV news channels, has decided that the weekly ratings for all national news and business channels in Hindi and English should be done on a monthly basis from next month.

    The NBA board feels that this will improve news broadcasting standards as “coverage and reportage of news and programmes cannot always be linked to popularity or audience measurement”.

    India’s ratings agency TAM, however, has not yielded yet. Though in dialogue with the NBA, TAM wants consensus from the other stakeholders like the IBF, AAAI and ISA who are also users of the same central TAM database.

    Said TAM Media Research CEO LV Krishnan, “It is imperative for NBA to first discuss their proposal with other industry bodies. Only after this should one arrive at an overall industry consensus on the frequency of TAM data reporting. TAM will require written approvals from each of the member’s industry bodies on the decision taken with respect to the change in frequency of data reporting. Till the time we receive a formal overall approval from all stakeholders of the TAM database, no decisions on the change in current frequency of reporting will be taken.”

    Building a consensus will not be easy. Leo Burnett Chairman of India Sub-Continent Arvind Sharma said, “Advertising agencies will oppose such a move. To make a more informed decision, an advertiser needs transparent, frequent and current data. Moving to a monthly ratings system will not allow us to read patterns. It is not a progressive move.”

    News broadcasters argue that their content is distinct from other genres as they have a responsibility to inform and empower their viewers with quality programming and dissemination of news rather than providing content merely for garnering viewership. News broadcasting standards can only improve with time spent on strategic planning and research rather than knee jerk reactions taken on a weekly basis.

    NBA wants TAM to introduce the monthly ratings system initially for a period of two years. Regional news channels could be brought under this system on a later date.

    Speaking to Indiantelevision.com, several senior executives said on condition of anonymity that agencies look at 4-13 week data when they make advertising deals for their clients. “There is no revision in rates done after a deal is inked. So there is no reason for them to be upset,” a top official said.

    The NBA also clarified in an official statement that the initiative taken by it would not in any way hamper the decision making of advertisers and advertising agencies.

    “In the new monthly dispensation, advertisers would continue to get access to data broken down to a minute or a day-part or a specific programme in a manner similar to how data points are currently accessed in the weekly format,” it said.

    Sharma, however, disagrees. “News channels are indirectly saying that more frequent information (weekly ratings data) makes their content worse. This seems to be built on an unsound premise,” he said.

    Added Madison Media Group CEO Punitha Arumugam, “The same data getting reported on a monthly basis instead only delays the decision making process.”

    Will a monthly ratings system clean up content? “This will certainly reduce pressure on the editors,” said Pankaj Pachauri, NDTV Managing Editor – Special Projects and VP of the Broadcast Editors Association. “Editors were often constrained to make last minute changes in the fixed point charts or the content of the various news programmes on the basis of weekly TAM reports.”

  • NDTV to up Narayan Rao, Vikram Chandra

    NDTV to up Narayan Rao, Vikram Chandra

    MUMBAI: NDTV is going to elevate its group CEO KVL Narayan Rao to the newly created post of executive vice chairman.

    Vikram Chandra, who is CEO of NDTV Convergence and NDTV Networks, will be made group CEO.

    The board will meet on 29 July to give its consent to these two elevations at the top.

    NDTV sources, however, denied rumours of any editorial changes involving group editor Barkha Dutt and managing editor Srinivasan Jain.

    When contacted, Rao declined to comment.