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Tag: News Broadcasters Federation

  • PM Modi to meet NBF delegation to put focus on future of news industry

    PM Modi to meet NBF delegation to put focus on future of news industry

    Mumbai: The News Broadcasters Federation (NBF), a news broadcaster, will be meeting prime minister Narendra Modi on Thursday in New Delhi to discuss the future of the new broadcast industry. The delegation of the NBF will be led by Republic Media Network chairman and NBF founding president Arnab Goswami.

    As the largest news industry body with more than 50 news broadcaster members, NBF sees the meeting as an opportunity to apprise the prime minister of the seminal role it plays as an institution of democracy. It would also be an occasion to get an insight into the prime minister’s vision in shaping of the future of broadcast news television in India. The NBF will also seek the prime minister’s support in crafting structural policies that will shape the news industry’s future.

    Arnab Goswami, who has been at the helm of raising news industry concerns via the NBF is slated to lead the briefing at the meeting and apprise the prime minister on the present situation within the news industry. The NBF is set to raise issues such as the challenges faced by national and regional channels and concerns regarding the lack of transparency and data sharing within the present systems.

    The meeting is happening in the backdrop of the prime minister’s recent call for Indian media to get a global voice. The NBF firmly shares the prime minister’s vision and it is expected that the meeting would have some exchange of thoughts on the same.

    Arnab Goswami and the NBF delegates are also likely to discuss the need for the evolution of the rating measurement system in synchronization with the Government of India’s policy and emphasis on transparency of data and digitization.

    The NBF differentiates itself as an industry grouping that is mostly comprised of non-corporate media owners, who have successfully built their respective organizations without big corporate support so as to keep news independent and democratic. NBF member organizations have created thousands of jobs for the youth of the country without big corporate funding that comes with strings attached.

    Under the leadership of Goswami, the NBF has been a vocal body, standing for the independent and democratic ethos of the news industry. The NBF has batted for an absolute level playing field within the Indian news industry- for broadcasters large and small- by raising concerns at various levels and forums against restrictive trade practices.

    The meeting with prime minister Narendra Modi comes at a time when the wave of broadcast news television is on the uptake and the viewership through Connected Televisions (CTVs) is seeing phenomenal growth for broadcast news consumption, thereby laying the ground for the possibility of critical transformative frameworks that can take the voice of the Indian media to the global scale.

    Founding president of the NBF and Republic Media Network chairman Arnab Goswami will lead the delegation which includes News Industry Stalwarts, Media Owners and Top Editorial Minds from across national and regional Media in India. The Delegation will include Industry Stalwarts such as Barun Das, the MD & CEO at TV9 Group,  Riniki Bhuyan Sarma, the Chairperson and Managing Director of Pride East Entertainments,  Kartikeya Sharma, Founder of ITV Network, Jagi Mangat Panda, Co-Founder & MD Odisha Television Network Ltd (OTV), Shankar Bala, Chief Executive Officer of Fourth Dimension Media Solutions Pvt Ltd which represents Puthiyathalaimurai and leading Telugu News Channel V6 News, Angad Deep Singh of Living India News which has a deep presence across the North Indian states and Sanjive Narain, Founder of Prag News. The Delegation will also include industry conglomerates in the news media represented by Sreekandan Nair, Managing Director of Insight Media City, Manoj Gairola, Editor-in-Chief of News Nation Network, Suresh Goel, Chairman of IBC 24, Subramaniam, the Managing Director of News7 Tamil, Aishwarya Sharma, Promoter, ITV Network and Director of The Sunday Guardian Foundation, Jagdish Pawra, the Channel Head for VTV Network, Prashant Neema, Channel Head of Sandesh News, Pravindra Kumar,  leads the Editorial operations at Network 10 and NBF Secretariats R Jai Krishna and Eshita.

    The NBF is a body with more than 50 news broadcasters that disseminates news in over 14 languages, across more than 25 states of India.

  • NBF writes to I&B minister Anurag Thakur regarding landing page issue

    NBF writes to I&B minister Anurag Thakur regarding landing page issue

    Mumbai: The News Broadcasters Federation (NBF) has written a letter to the union minister of information and broadcasting Anurag Thakur on the issue of landing pages. The landing page is the first channel that the viewer sees when anyone turns on the set-top box.

    The letter is signed by NBF founding president Arnab Goswami and secretary-general Jai Krishna.

    NBF has asked the I&B ministry to address the issue of the landing page being measured by the viewership rating agency Broadcast Audience Research Council (Barc) as ‘true viewership’, thereby skewing the final data.

    In its letter, NBF argues that the use of landing pages to alter viewership data is a ‘restrictive trade practice’ leading the way for monopolies to be formed in the news media industry.

    Read Also: Why Barc’s landing page viewership measurement is worrying TV9’s Barun Das

    It claims, “The brazen use of landing pages, bought at a price, to artificially amplify viewership data of certain channels gives channels with deep pockets an anti-competitive advantage. It is shocking that some news channels today get 84 per cent of their viewership from just two states in India, because of landing pages.”

    The letter puts the onus of resolving the landing page issue on Barc stating that the TV audience measurement firm can exclude landing page data from viewership estimates.

    The letter further reads, “In the past, Barc had included unfiltered outliers data from the landing page for its rating data, but had later decided to exclude it from viewership. Therefore, it is clear that Barc has both the ability and the precedent of filtering out landing page data while calculating viewership, but is still not doing so. In fact, in the past, Barc had itself termed the use of landing pages as a “false exaggeration of viewership.”

    The letter appeals to the I&B minister to intervene in the matter.“The NBF is fully committed to working with the Ministry and all stakeholders across the board to address the issue collectively and reach a solution,” the letter concludes.

  • NBF questions Barc’s opt-out methodology; demands release of recent historical data

    NBF questions Barc’s opt-out methodology; demands release of recent historical data

    Mumbai: The News Broadcasters Federation (NBF) has written to Broadcast Audience Research Council (Barc) expressing its apprehensions around the manner in which the agency is to resume ratings on 17 March. In a letter dated 9 February, NBF has alleged that the move indicates “continued favouritism to select few channels that would reflect in skewed audience measurement numbers and fabricated industry representation when the data is planned to be released on March 17, 2022.”

    Barc’s communication to its subscribers on 7 February comes barely a week after detailed discussion with channels of NBDA, which the NBF claimed “are of conflict of interest on this issue. NBF, as the largest new broadcasters’ industry association protecting the business interest of news channels, has not been consulted despite several requests on the same.”

    The association has also expressed doubt regarding the opt-out methodology being used by Barc having an official seal of approval from the MIB.

    “The MIB had directed Barc to release the data with ‘immediate effect’ on a four week rolling over basis including the data for the preceding three months ‘for fair and equitable representation of true trends’. Barc, however, has chosen to completely undermine the government’s order, and in violation, is now proceeding with an opt-out option. Ratings are relative within a genre. The opt-out option is a direct contravention and renders completely redundant the MIB direction of three-month ratings. It is a way to conceal even recent historical data,” NBF said.

    The association argued that the decision to withhold data will deprive advertisers of complete clarity on how news viewership had been during the dark period and will hinder the post-evaluation of their campaigns. “News channel viewership is measured in market share terms. Any channel opting out disrupts the true representation of the market share. Barc by providing an opt-out option is doing an extreme disservice to the entire industry including advertisers and advertising agencies as well.”

    Voicing concern regarding the date of ratings release, NBF noted that the MIB order directing the ‘immediate’ release of ratings came on 12 January. Releasing the data on 17 March will not give a ‘fair and transparent picture of the actual viewership.’

    “Even if the audience data is released on a four-week rolling average basis on 17 March, final TRPs will skew the average since it would only reflect a one-off major event of the assembly elections and the ensuing counting day to five states, including Uttar Pradesh. The day chosen for the resumption of ratings will not give a fair and transparent picture of the actual viewership across the stakeholders – trusted viewers, advertisers and advertising agencies.”

    In an earlier letter dated 28 January, NBF had urged Barc to resume TV ratings for willing news channels, starting 3 February. Its member news channels had, in fact, demanded the release of ratings for the entire blackout period of 16 months.

    “Even during the dark period – October 15 2020 until date – audience data is being collected and tabulated for all genres including those with a lesser sample size than news channels. So, in all fairness, it should be released as they are, with immediate effect and as directed by the MIB,” stated the letter dated 9 February.

    The NBF has also questioned Barc’s silence on the systems that have to be put in place to correct the impact of landing pages, which is a major concern for the industry. “Barc needs to openly declare the outliers and the measures that are being taken to prevent the spike in ratings due to landing pages,” it observed.

  • Deloitte India associates with News Broadcasters Federation

    Deloitte India associates with News Broadcasters Federation

    Mumbai: News Broadcasters Federation (NBF) has partnered with Deloitte India to launch an integrated performance and rewards forum for the news broadcasting industry. This is the first-ever such association in the media domain.

    The five-year partnership aims at building thought leadership in the human capital space. Apart from a total rewards report, and compensation and benchmarking studies, NBF’s members will have the opportunity to glean insights in the areas of productivity analysis, performance management, employee assessments, employee preference, and employee engagement. NBF members will also get access to Deloitte India Human Capital reports on Workforce and Increments Trends (WITS) and Campus Hiring Trends, amongst other industry-leading reports.

    “Employees, especially journalists and related executives involved in the public service of taking news and information to the doorsteps of crores of Indians, are the backbone of the sector,” said NBF founding president Arnab Goswami. “This much-needed study will identify the social, economic, and financial impact of the ongoing pandemic and the pause in audience measurement data for the TV news genre. The partnership will enable the news broadcasting sector to prepare news TV channels to be future-ready, in terms of skills and benchmarking of employee benefits.”

    “Employee costs are the single biggest expense for a news TV channel,” said NBF secretary-general R Jai Krishna. “The NBF-Deloitte India association aims to make the news TV sector more sustainable and successful, by preparing it to hire the best talent for a strong news media industry.”

    “This is a unique association to strengthen the human capital landscape of the media industry,” said Deloitte India partner Anubhav Gupta. “Deloitte India’s human capital team is excited to work alongside NBF to provide thought leadership in multiple pertinent issues in this sector.”

    “We look forward to associating with NBF and its member firms in the area of performance and rewards, and provide structured insights to enable data-backed decision-making throughout the year,” said Deloitte India director Neelesh Gupta. “Rewards and productivity are important areas for this industry, and we aim to fully support NBF members in this journey.”

    India has about 909 satellite television channels, of which, news television channels (being the single-largest genre) constitute 43 percent. The first phase of the survey will cover more than 300 organisations and commenced from December 2021. The results are expected by Q4 2021.

  • MIB officially recognises self-regulatory body under NBF

    MIB officially recognises self-regulatory body under NBF

    Mumbai: The ministry of information and broadcasting (MIB) has officially recognised the News Broadcasters Federation’s (NBF) self-regulatory body Professional News Broadcasters Standards Authority (PNBSA). NBF claims it is the first and only news broadcasters’ self-regulatory body to get the status.

    The PNBSA has been formally registered as a self-regulatory body under the new amendments in the Cable Television Network Act.

    “The NBF’s self-regulatory body’s emergence as the sole body to meet all criteria to be granted validation by the Union of India and be the only recognised body regulating the news media sector as on-date once again reiterates the commitment of the largest news broadcasters’ body to the fundamentals of transparency, accountability and strong self-regulation,” said a press statement.

    “The PNBSA is set to build a robust system with the highest standards of transparency and accountability,” it added.

    “I want to thank all the members of the governing body of the NBF who have worked with me towards making this happen,” said NBF, president, Arnab Goswami. “The media has a pivotal role in strengthening our democracy and taking it to even greater heights. Strengthening the framework of the self-regulation of the media is a big step in that direction. And that’s exactly what the NBF has been working round the clock towards.”

    “The NBF prides itself on its democratic structure and roots across the country. Different languages, dynamic formats and varied audiences, but what binds the NBF is our commitment in coming together to strengthen the media pillar of Indian democracy. We look forward to working with the ministry of information and broadcasting to further strengthen self-regulation in our media,” Goswami added.

    “We are privileged to be the first officially recognised self-regulatory body to be registered for TV news broadcasters,” said NBF, secretary-general, R. Jai Krishna. “We are grateful to the ministry of information and broadcasting and our members for reposing trust and faith. We ensure that we will take the news broadcasting of the country to great milestones with our democratic structure, excellence in self-regulation, and bringing the truth and reflections to the doorsteps across the country in maximum languages.”

    The NBF channels presently include 24News, Alamai Sahara, CVR English, CVR Health, CVR NEWS, DA News Plus, DY365, Gulistan News, IBC24, IND 24, India News Gujarat, India News Haryana, India News Hindi, India News MPCG, India News Punjabi, India News Rajasthan, India News UP, Khabar Fast, MHOne, NEWS9, News First Kannada, News Live, News Nation, NewsX, North East Live, North East News, OTV, Prag News, Puthiyathalaimurai, Republic Bangla, Republic Bharat, Republic TV, Sahara Samay, Samay Bihar, Samay Maharashtra, Samay MPCG, Samay Rajasthan, Samay UP, TV5 Kannada, TV5 Telugu, TV9 Bharatvarsh, TV9 Gujarati, TV9 Kannada, TV9 Marathi, TV9 Telugu, and V6.

  • Need immediate resumption of viewership ratings: NBF to Anurag Thakur

    Need immediate resumption of viewership ratings: NBF to Anurag Thakur

    Mumbai: Governing board members and senior member broadcasters of News Broadcasters Federation (NBF) met with the minister of information and broadcasting, Anurag Thakur, on Tuesday.

    During the meeting, members of NBF highlighted the need for the immediate resumption of viewership ratings for the news genre. The ratings “have been unilaterally paused and have severely impacted the sustainability of news channels”, they said. 

    The new broadcast body apprised the I&B minister of key issues facing the news industry, recent growth and trends in the broadcasting sector, and challenges faced by news broadcasters in recent times.

    “It was a pleasure to meet and exchange views with the NBF governing board led by Arnab Goswami,” said Anurag Thakur. “It was a productive exchange of views and I look forward to engaging with the NBF on issues regarding news broadcasting and the role of news broadcasting in strengthening our democracy,” he added.

    The NBF governing board informed the minister about key initiatives undertaken by the body to provide greater representation to channels broadcasting in various languages and on further steps to strengthen regulation among member channels.

    The NBF delegation included Republic Media Network, editor-in-chief, Arnab Goswami; TV9 News Network, CEO, Barun Das; Prag News, founder/MD, Sanjive Narain; Pride East Entertainment, chairperson/MD, Riniki Bhuyan Sarma; ITV Network founder/promoter, Kartikeya Sharma; Fourth Dimension, CEO, Shankar Bala; TV9 Bharatvarsh, news director, Hemant Sharma; News Nation, editor-in-chief, Manoj Gairola; MHOne, chairperson, Mahendra Bhatla; Newsfirst Kannada, business head, Divaakar S; NBF and Eshita, secretary-general, and associate for policy and regulations of NBF, R Jai Krishna.

    “The meeting of NBF members with the Minister was a wonderful opportunity to apprise him about the steps we have taken to build India’s largest federation of news broadcasters,” said NBF president Arnab Goswami. “The Minister has heard our views and concerns in detail and we look forward to working with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to make the news broadcasting sector even stronger.”

    Shankar Bala called the meeting “path-breaking” and said, “We have particularly stated that it is essential to release the viewership ratings for news channels, which were unilaterally stopped. The resumption of the publication of news ratings will ensure fair play and measurement-driven competitive news industry.”

    “The highly competitive news TV genre certainly needs a level-playing field for new promising players both in the national arena and regional markets. We felt extremely assured after our meeting today,” said Barun Das.

    “As a team, NBF put forth the problems we tend to face and the ways in which we want to raise and address our concerns. At least, we can go forward and help regional industries survive, like ours. The minister gave us a patient hearing and we are very grateful to the Ministry. We are now looking forward to the future and ways as to how we can progress together,” said Riniki Bhuyan Sarma.

    “The minister heard out all the matters raised by various members of the NBF. I would like to thank the minister for hearing the viewpoints of all news channels from across India and from regional channels as well,” said Kartikeya Sharma.

  • TV9 Network joins News Broadcasters Federation

    TV9 Network joins News Broadcasters Federation

    Mumbai: TV9 Network on Wednesday announced that it has joined News Broadcasters Federation (NBF). NBF is a broadcast news body formed by more than 78 news channels representing 14 languages and 25 states.

    The NBF recently saw the induction of Sahara Network, CVR Network, and V6 as its new members.

    “NBF is the first body of broadcasters in India that truly represents the vision and concerns of regional, vernacular, and national media that constitute the changing face of media in India,” said the broadcast network in a statement.

    “NBF’s goals are to support regional news channels and their digital platforms in understanding and complying with regulatory requirements with regard to news content,” it added.

    Welcoming TV9 Network on board, NBF president Arnab Goswami said that the NBF is the nation’s only body that truly represents national and regional players, catering to their aspirations and forming a system to cohesively and unitedly raise concerns regarding broadcast news media. “The NBF is the most democratically run news media body and that is what makes us stand out amongst the rest. I am proud to say that today NBF is the biggest body for broadcast news and is one that is for a New India and one for the future,” he added.

    “We are delighted to join the NBF. I am impressed with the democratic way of functioning of Arnab and other members of the governing body,” said TV9 Network, group chief executive officer, Barun Das. “Regional news genre enjoys the biggest pie of viewership and revenue in the news TV industry. It is only fair that they get their share of voice in guiding the industry in the right direction. The NBF brings that balance to the table as  regional broadcasters are well represented here.”

    The NBF channels presently include 24News, Alamai Sahara, CVR English, CVR Health, CVR NEWS, DA News Plus, DY365, Gulistan News, IBC24, IND 24, India News Gujarat, India News Haryana, India News Hindi, India News MPCG, India News Punjabi, India News Rajasthan, India News UP, Khabar Fast, MHOne, NEWS9, News First Kannada, News Live, News Nation, NewsX, North East Live, North East News, OTV, Prag News, Puthiyathalaimurai, Republic Bangla, Republic Bharat, Republic TV, Sahara Samay, Samay Bihar, Samay Maharashtra, Samay MPCG, Samay Rajasthan, Samay UP, TV5 Kannada, TV5 Telugu, TV9 Bharatvarsh, TV9 Gujarati, TV9 Kannada, TV9 Marathi, TV9 Telugu, and V6.

  • NBF backs supreme court observation on misused sedition laws

    NBF backs supreme court observation on misused sedition laws

    KOLKATA: The News Broadcasters Federation has supported the concern, as expressed by the Supreme Court, over rampant misuse of antiquated sedition laws in India to gag and muzzle the media from dissemination constructive criticism of authorities in power in public interest.

    “We are of the view that the ambit and parameters of the provisions of Sections 124A, 153A and 505 of the Indian Penal Code 1860 would require interpretation, particularly in the context of the right of the electronic and print media to communicate news, information and the rights, even those that may be critical of the prevailing regime in any part of the nation,” a three-judge bench comprising of justices Dr. Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, L. Nageswara Rao, and S. Ravindra Bhat, said in their order delivered on Monday.

    The bench was hearing petitioners TV5 and ABN, who had challenged the first information report registered against broadcasters of news and views, critical of the state government of Andhra Pradesh and its chief minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy. The order restrained the state government of Andhra Pradesh from taking any coercive actions against the two news channels, till the next date of hearing.

    “The News Broadcasters Federation strongly stands and appreciates TV5, our respected member who have taken (up) this issue, of freedom of speech and expression,” NBF stated.

    The NBF communication further said, “We believe that fair and honest criticism is the backbone of democracy. NBF reiterates and urges the government of India to immediately set-up an independent, neutral national agency to investigate into any allegations of professional misconduct by journalists, executives, and owners of news media companies, in order to prevent selective harassment by the state authority and to ensure the freedom of the press.”

  • News Broadcasters Federation condemns attack on TV5

    News Broadcasters Federation condemns attack on TV5

    MUMBAI: NBF (News Broadcasters Federation) has condemned the attack by unidentified men on the Hyderabad office of TV5, by damaging equipment and property. 

    "The attack on TV5 is yet another attempt at using physical violence and threats to try and muzzle the media. NBF strongly condemns this and expects the state government to ensure TV5 is able to continue broadcasting in an environment free of such strong-arm tactics which are anyway bound to fail," said NBF president Arnab Goswami.

    TV5 has been at the forefront of reporting the high costs of procurement of Rapid Test Kits (RTE) for testing Covid2019 infection by the Andhra Pradesh government, which forced officials to cancel the contract and save crores of rupees to the public exchequer. More recently, TV5 has been highlighting and raising questions on the negligence that led to the gas leakage at a private chemical factory in Vijayawada.

    Across India, broadcasters in all languages are doing non-stop programming with a focus on battling the pandemic and ensuring the success of the nationwide lockdown.

    NBF, India’s largest industry association representing the combined interests of TV news channels, expressed concern over the increasing incidents of attacks on media and journalists, while performing their duty during these hard times. In the last few weeks, there have been an increasing number of physical attacks and filing of police cases against TV news channels, and prominent journalists across the country, creating an obstacle against performing their public service, despite the hardships during the lockdown of the country since March 24, 2020, NBF said in a press release. 

    "Since the nationwide lockdown, at least 24 journalists have been booked under serious charges by the police department in various states. Some journalists have also been physically attacked. Such incidents are highly condemnable and demoralising for the journalists and the news broadcasting media," said NBF secretary-general R Jai Krishna.

  • Arnab Goswami speaks during COVID-19 lockdown

    Arnab Goswami speaks during COVID-19 lockdown

    MUMBAI: You can't keep Arnab Goswami out of the news. Soon after chucking up his membership of the Editors Guild of India, he is now seeking succour for TV news channels as president of the News Broadcasters Federation – a coalition of 300 of them. The bespectacled journo, who is not known for mincing his words, wants to make a clear appeal to advertisers, agencies and the media frat to help the news broadcasting sector, during the Covid-19 lockdown phase which has led to the erosion of both their top line and bottom line. News television, which mostly relies on ad spends to fuel its operations, has seen the latter getting shaved even as viewership has multiplied manifold.

    Goswami, who is a founding member and editor-in-chief of Republic Media Network, had an exclusive conversation with indiantelevision.com during the course of which he said that he was making an outreach to brands, ad agencies, and media that they "need to look upon news as essential service and I request them to come forward and show greater support to the news channels.”

    The NBF president believes that the federation has greater responsibility towards the media industry and must support those who may not be leaders in their specific regions.

    Recently, the NBF urged advertisers and advertising agencies to refrain from renegotiating their on-air TV commercial and sponsorship deals when the news broadcasters are ramping up their COVID-19 coverage, despite the fact that operating costs are rising alarmingly.

    “I have been working hard for it and am willing to engage with my friends in the media industry to take this further," says Goswami. "It is said that advertisers are cutting down the effective rates in the current scheme and there are chances that this will worsen things, especially for regional news broadcasters, putting a question mark on their existence."

    Not just from advertisers, the NBF president is also considering requesting a comprehensive stimulus package from the government for the TV news broadcasters. In this regard, the federation has written a letter to union information & broadcasting (I&B) minister Prakash Javadekar for an appointment of e-meeting through video-conference as per his availability this week.

    Points out Goswami: “This is a difficult time for the broadcasting industry and as president of NBF, I look forward to meeting the I&B minister during which we can discuss the measures the government could take to help the news broadcasting sector, which is reeling under the burden of operating costs and despite performing its duty at this testing time.”

    The issues that the federation would like to discuss with the minister during the e-meeting are satellite and bandwidth charges, Prasar Bharati and DD Free Dish, DAVP pending payments, unrestricted availability of FTA new channels, governmental support and liquidity issues.

    The NBF president also put his weight behind viewers for standing tall with the news broadcasters. He says: “Television and digital consumers are making obvious choices as to who is serving the nation and its people and those who are against the national interest. The latter is of course failing to gain any viewership,” he concluded.