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Tag: News Broadcasting

  • News broadcast stuck in time warp, must evolve or die: Sudhir Chaudhary

    News broadcast stuck in time warp, must evolve or die: Sudhir Chaudhary

    MUMBAI: News broadcasting hasn’t had a proper makeover in two decades and is paying the price as viewers switch to sexier platforms, claims popular anchor Sudhir Chaudhary. Speaking on a Governance Now podcast with Sri Adhikari Brothers managing director Kailashnath Adhikari, , Chaudhary delivered a blunt diagnosis of the industry’s ailments.

    “Least innovation has taken place in the news broadcast industry,” lamented the veteran journalist. “With nearly 400 news channels today, the big 10-15 follow identical breaking news formats with red alerts, similar headlines, and studios where anchors look remarkably alike—debating the same subjects with familiar panellists.”

    The industry, he argues, has become obsessed with ratings rather than reinvention. “Experts in newsrooms study TRPs and suggest content creation based on popularity. Ninety-nine per cent of the industry functions in this reactive manner. The industry has lost its way.”

    Chaudhary, who boasts 7.9 million followers on X (formerly Twitter), noted a telling shift in viewer language: “Earlier people said they watch me on TV, but now they say they follow me.”

    While traditional news outlets flounder, social media influencers are cultivating massive audiences through innovative formats. Unlike cricket—which reinvented itself from five-day tests to T20 spectacles—television news remains trapped in amber, with the same stale formulas recycled night after night.

    “Today the consumer has a plethora of available options,” Chaudhary observed. “News is available on WhatsApp, Instagram, Snapchat, television, print and social media. You have to show the same story in different formats, durations and parts on different platforms.”

    Looking ahead, Chaudhary—rumoured to be joining the National Broadcaster—says he craves “freedom to create content instead of chasing TRPs” and will seek alliances with social media creators. The message is clear: evolve or become yesterday’s news.

  • Comscore ranks India Today Group at No.1 in video news streaming

    Comscore ranks India Today Group at No.1 in video news streaming

    Mumbai: As the nation’s top multi-platform news outlet and the provider with the highest digital viewing reach for streaming news platforms according to Comscore, India Today Group has persevered in outshining the competition on its relentless journey.

    As per the Comscore Videometrix MultiPlatform Report for July 2022, the media giant tops the rankings list with a digital viewership of 98,600 in the streaming video attribute of the news/information streaming ranked category.

    This development showcases the group’s focus on constantly innovating and servicing its trusted viewership base in the digital ecosystem.

    The India Today Group’s enormous success can be attributed to its strategy of emphasising video, being strong on mobile, and making sure it has a strong social media presence and ranks at the top of YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

    In the Comscore Videometrix MultiPlatform Report for July 2022, the India Today Group tops the charts by over 15,000 points, beating Times Internet (83,000), Network18 (79,000), and ABP News on YouTube (73,000) by a distance.

    The group’s multiplatform products have had enormous success, which can be credited to its strengths in mobile, video, and social media, and to being the most popular brand on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

  • M. Abul Nasr Iqbal joins India News as senior anchor

    M. Abul Nasr Iqbal joins India News as senior anchor

    Mumbai: India News has announced the appointment of Abul Nasr as senior anchor.

    With a career spread over 17 years, Abul has worked with established names in the media domain. Prior to joining India News, he was associated with India TV as an anchor and executive producer. He has also worked with News Nation, Sahara TV and Jain TV.

    Abul is an iTV alumnus. He has engaged himself in various important assignments throughout his career.

    iTV Network founder Kartikeya Sharma said, “Abul is a remarkable talent and his history of creative ingenuity and fluency will move India News in promising new directions that connect directly with what our viewers are seeking. I am thrilled to welcome him to the brand.”

    I’m incredibly honoured to be joining the team at India News, said Abul. “I look forward to working with the talented editors and reporters to define what’s next for India News. The network has such a rich history, and I’m excited to be a part of its future.”

    Abul holds a post graduate degree in Mass Communications from YMCA New Delhi.

  • Barc Week 25: India TV leads HSM market for three weeks

    Barc Week 25: India TV leads HSM market for three weeks

    Mumbai: Hindi news channel India TV has been consistently leading the Hindi-speaking market among the target audience 15+ for three consecutive weeks as per data by Broadcast Audience Research Council India (Barc).

    As per data shared by the channel for Week 23, 24 and 25, India TV has a consistent relative share of 13.5 per cent for the 15+ target group.

    Aaj Tak follows the channel with 12.8 per cent relative share in Week 25. News18 India has a 11.9 per cent share, TV9 Bharatvarsh has 10.9 per cent share and Republic Bharat with 10.8 per cent share.

    Zee News has a relative share of 9.2 per cent followed by Times Now Navbharat at 7.4 per cent share. ABP News has 6.5 per cent share, News Nation has 5.8 per cent share and Good News Today has 5.2 per cent share.

    Furthermore, India TV is also the leading channel in the Hindi-speaking Urban 15+ T.G market eight consecutive weeks with a 14.4 per cent relative share in Week 25.

    India TV is even more popular with affluent audiences i.e., NCCS A HSM as per the Barc data. India TV has been the leading Hindi news channel for this target group for eight weeks and has a 15.2 per cent relative share in Week 25.

    The overall ratings for Hindi news genre (Average Minute Audience (AMA) (000)) grew by four per cent in week 25 i.e., 18-24 June.

    Additionally, as per return-path data (RPD) by Airtel Xstream, India TV is the leading Hindi news channel from Week 18 to Week 25 in the Hindi-speaking market with 18.6 per cent relative share. The RPD data is on the basis of total watch time.

    Source: BARC, All Days, 06:00-24:00, TG: 15+, Market: HSM, Period: Wk 23’22 to Wk 25’22, Relative Share among 12 Hindi News Channels, Basis AMA 000s

    BARC, All Days, 06:00-24:00, TG: 15+, Market: HSM Urban, Period : Wk 18’22 to Wk 25’22, Relative Share among 12 Hindi News Channels, Basis AMA 000s

    BARC, All Days, 06:00-24:00, TG: NCCS A, Market: HSM, Period : Wk 18’22 to Wk 25’22, Relative Share among 12 Hindi News Channels, Basis AMA 000s

    BARC, All Days, 06:00-24:00, TG: 15+, Market: HSM, Period: Wk 18’22 to Wk 25’22, Hindi News Genre consist 12 Hindi News Channels, AMA 000s                     

    Airtel Xstream, All Days, 24Hr, Market: HSM, Period: Wk 18’22 to Wk 25’22, Relative Share among 12 Hindi News Channels, Basis Total Watch Time

  • 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.

  • Nikunj Garg appointed as editor of Mirror Now

    Nikunj Garg appointed as editor of Mirror Now

    Mumbai: Times Network on Thursday announced the appointment of Nikunj Garg as editor of Mirror Now. He will report to Times Network managing director and chief executive officer MK Anand.  

    Garg will lead the editorial mandate for Mirror Now and closely work with the channel’s business and leadership teams to drive the channel’s growth agenda, besides continuing his role as overall head of input and news-gathering at Times Network, said the statement.

    With a broadcast journalism career spanning two decades, “Nikunj brings sharp insights, political intelligence, judgement, and accuracy in his reportage,” it added.

    “Nikunj has been one of our key assets and has significantly contributed to Times Now’s leadership through his action-oriented news reportage,” said MK Anand. “I am confident that Nikunj’s in-depth knowledge, expertise, and experience will help the channel’s growth plans in serving its mission, ‘You First’.”

    Garg has been associated with Times Network for over a decade, covering national political and international high-profile stories for Times Now. He is known for investigating and breaking powerful stories including Bofors’s alleged middleman, Ottavio Quatorocchi’s arrest in Argentina, arrest of an Indian diplomat in Pakistan for spying charges in 2010, revealing the identity of lone surviving terrorist of Mumbai 26/11 as Ajmal Kasab and confirming his arrest, IPL match-fixing scandal in 2013, breaking important government decisions on Covid-19 pandemic and government’s action on former CBI director Alok Verma amongst others.

    “I am honored and thrilled to take over this new responsibility,” said Garg. “With a strategic segmented approach, Mirror Now has successfully created a whole new genre of content, centered around the viewer’s preference for impact. I look forward to harnessing my best efforts to fuel the brand’s purpose of focusing on issues that impact the lives of Indians.”

  • Republic Media Network set to foray into Bengali market

    Republic Media Network set to foray into Bengali market

    KOLKATA: Republic Media Network is set to expand its operation in Bengali language, marking its first regional foray. According to sources, the news network will also have a broadcast operation in the market along with its website.

    The network has already started hiring journalists in West Bengal. It recently shared a post on its timeline for the same.  

    “We are the fastest growing news brand in the country. We will expand into various language markets either with linear or digital and in some markets both. There is a huge demand for Republic in West Bengal. Arnab and all of us in key management team are keenly evaluating and look forward to launching across markets starting with East,” Republic Media Network CEO Vikas Khanchandani said.”

    However, he did not divulge any details on timeline of the launch.

    The network also strengthened its online presence by launching a Hindi news portal in October this year.

    Read more: Republic Media expands presence in online news space, launches in Hindi language

    Earlier in a virtual fireside chat hosted by Indiantelevision.com, Republic TV editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami said that the broadcaster will be operating in six languages, including its existing English and Hindi portfolio, by March 2021.

    The expansion comes amid troubled times at the channel, which is embroiled in the high-profile TRP gaming scandal. Several employees and leaders in the upper echelons of the Republic have been called in for questioning by the police in connection to the case; several arrests were also made. Meanwhile, Goswami, essentially the face of the channel, also has his hands full with the abetment to suicide case filed against him by Maharashtra police. The newsman was arrested and remanded in judicial custody for 10 days, before being granted interim bail by the Supreme Court.

  • 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.

  • Preet Dhupar to quit BBC Global News

    Preet Dhupar to quit BBC Global News

    MUMBAI: With elections just around the corner and one of the world’s renowned news channels BBC Global News promising to provide in depth news regarding India during the elections, comes a news that BBC Global News chief operating officer for India Preet Dhupar has decided to quit the organisation.

     

    Confirming the news to indiantelevision.com, Dhupar says, “Yes I have decided to leave but I’m around in BBC for some time.”

     

    BBC too has confirmed the news and revealed that the management is currently looking for a suitable replacement for Dhupar.

     

    Dhupar has been associated with BBC for 14 years. She joined the channel in 2000 as director of finance and operations and was elevated to COO in 2013.

  • NewsX unveils a vibrant new look

    NewsX unveils a vibrant new look

    MUMBAI: After an unprecedented performance in the year 2013 and now 2014, India’s New News leader NewsX has come up with a brand new look. The new NewsX embraces rapidly evolving needs of today’s viewer and with its new features provides viewers a clean and crisp news viewing experience. The new on-air presentation features a lively and contemporary appearance with vivid blue & red colors. The enhancements also include new type and font sizes and greater depth to images and video. The new look is in line with the channel’s profile, which caters to the young, affluent and urban viewers within the SEC AB category in the 25-44 age group. With its differentiated strategy and a broader spectrum of content mix, the channel has managed to create a unique place in the minds of viewers and advertisers.

     

    Speaking on the occasion, iTV Network MD Kartikeya Sharma which owns and runs NewsX said, “Over the last few months, NewsX has become the home of breaking news, in-depth coverage, analysis and hardcore news reporting from the ground and this is a significant new phase to build our growth story.”

     

    New look NewsX to also feature new shows

     

    Along with the new look; NewsX has also come up with 2 big shows that are unique and exceptional. Recently, the channel launched ‘Decode India with MJ Akbar’, a unique show where the guest leads the questions and discussions. Every episode, our guest questions, debates, gives his opinion and probes MJ Akbar on a topic of national significance.  The show airs on every Sunday at 10 am and 10 pm.

     

    Yet another unique show ‘Ideas that shaped Indian democracy’ is coming up soon which will see one of India’s illustrious journalist and TV show host Vir Sanghvi take us through a momentous journey of rediscovery as he handpicks the biggest ideas that shaped the world’s largest democracy.

     

    iTV Network CEO R K Arora said “Our success in the recent times only reinforces our belief in News not noise. We are glad that our strategies have resulted in unparalleled success for the channel. Our constant endeavor is to produce and present news in the most engaging manner”.