ITV

Tag: news channel

  • Aaj Tak touches highest ever News Channel Reach in Counting Week at 60 Mln (CS 15+)

    Aaj Tak touches highest ever News Channel Reach in Counting Week at 60 Mln (CS 15+)

    MUMBAI: Aaj Tak continued with its glorious streak of retaining the status of the No. 1 News Channel in India with a clear leadership on 16th May, the counting day, the counting week and the entire election season. Election week GVTs stood at 526676, translating into a mkt share of 21% (20.7%) within Hindi news channels with the no.2 trailing at 19% (19.1). For comparison, (All India, CS 15+, Avrg TVT 000s) – Aaj Tak is 19 times of Times Now and over 6 times the total Eng News genre put together.

     

    In what was the most keenly followed Election, Hindi News genre attained the highest ever absolute reach of over 104 million, with an absolute share of 6.8% viewership.

    Commenting on the performance, Mr. Ashish Bagga, Group CEO, India Today, said, “The stride that Aaj Tak has been making is the result of a focused approach towards our viewers. The maximum reporters on the  ground, the most innovative use of technology in the form of holograms and teleportation, maximum LIVE sources, a never before build up, focus on grand visuals through the use of drones and obviously the definitive edge of trust in the Aajtak brand made us the preferred choice. We are sure the brand will keep upping the ante and raise the bar like it has always done.”

     

  • Government warns News channel for showing disturbing visuals in news bulletins

    Government warns News channel for showing disturbing visuals in news bulletins

    NEW DELHI: The government has sent a warning to DY 365 News channel for showing ‘extremely disturbing visuals of dead bodies and badly injured people including children’ that ‘were not only disturbing but may also hurt the sentiments of the viewers.’

     

    The Information and Broadcasting Ministry has asked the channel to strictly adhere to the terms of permission granted to uplink it on 30 July 2008 and under

    Section 20 of the Cable Television Network (Regulation) Act, 1995.

     

    The Ministry said it had issued the notice, after the channel had telecast News bulletins on 12 May 2013, 22 February 2013, 2 February 2013, 2 November 2012, 4 October 2O12, 2 September 2012, 26 July 2012, 22 July 2012, 9 July 2012 and 3 July 2012 in different bulletins visuals that were ‘neither morphed nor blurred in keeping with the sensitivities of the victim’s families as well as viewers.’

     

    Hence the Ministry found that these visuals appear to offend good taste and decency and do not appear to be suitable for children and for unrestricted public exhibition.

     

    A show cause notice was sent to the channel on 26 September last year in reply to which the channel took the excuse that the faces had been shown so that their relatives could identify them and ‘there was no deliberate or intentional motive of the channel to show faces of the deceased in the news programme’. The channel also offered an unconditional apology.

     

    In view of the reply, the Inter-Ministerial Committee in its meeting on 26 February this year gave a personal opportunity to the channel to present its case.

     

    The warning has been issued as the Committee was clear that the telecasts were in clear violation of the provisions of the Programme Code, particularly Rules 6(1Xa), 6(1)(o), and 6 (5) of CTNR, 1994. The IMC observed that even though the channel had accepted its fault and apologised for its mistake, it cannot escape the responsibility of ensuring content on the channel which must be in conformity with the Programme Code at all times.

  • After Swabhumi relaunch, Arjun Infotech plans for Bengali news channel

    After Swabhumi relaunch, Arjun Infotech plans for Bengali news channel

    KOLKATA: It was only last month that Arjun Infotech entered the world of media with the re-launch of Bengali daily, Swabhumi, which was closed down in January by the old management.

     

    The Gujarat-headquartered company now plans to start a Bengali news channel, and has put up 200 hoardings which read, ‘Aasche Swabhumi Channel’. Another 100 hoardings will be put up in towns and districts of the state before the launch.

     

    Earlier, the channel was slated for launch on the eve of Nabobarsha (Bengali New Year) on 14 April but the elections caused delay. “The channel launch date has not been finalised. We will put up another 100 hoardings. Once the channel takes off, there will be a common editorial team,” said Swabhumi deputy chief reporter Ishan Chatterjee.

     

    While it isn’t immediately known whether Arjun Infotech has acquired the license for its Bengali channel, according to insiders, the company plans to run it from a huge studio in Salt Lake Sector V.

     

    When contacted, a city-based media expert said, “The market is too small for a Bengali channel and too many players cannot survive. For outsiders it may be more difficult to stay long. Locals may still struggle it out. People from other markets get attracted to starting a Bengali channel for the wrong reasons. They realise the heat later.”

     

    For the recently acquired Swabhumi, Arjun Infotech already has a team of around 100 employees in place, which includes journalists, cameramen and technical staff.

     

    Launched in mid-February 2011 by Kolkata-based RICE Group, Swabhumi, was originally helmed by Samit Roy till Ankit Jaiswal from Arjun Infotech appeared on the scene.

  • Zee Sangam drops TEN format; to be national news channel

    Zee Sangam drops TEN format; to be national news channel

    MUMBAI: The Zee group has a reputation for reinventing itself from time to time.

     

    The latest is Zee Media Corporation’s flagship news channel, Zee News, is all set to get a cousin in the newly-rebranded Zee Sangam, which will be a national channel 16 April onwards. Before this, Zee Sangam was called Zee UP/Uttarakhand.

     

    The new-look Zee Sangam will air 40 per cent news from Uttar Pradesh with the remaining news from the rest of the nation including regional stories. 

     

     When contacted, Zee Media CEO Alok Agrawal confirmed that the channel has decided to drop the Terrestrial Entertainment Network (TEN) format that it had wanted to give to Sangam and has now embarked on making it a national channel.

     

     The differentiating factor between Zee News and Zee Sangam is that while the flagship channel will focus on news from the globe, Sangam will be regional-focused with a national perspective. Since the channel is known in Uttar Pradesh, the focus will be on stories from UP. Operating out of Noida, Vasindra Mishra will be the editor and Vinod Das the business head of the channel.

     

     Currently, the network is lining up the various programmes and beefing up on manpower as well as distribution. The channel will be available on all leading cable TV and direct to home (DTH) platforms in Mumbai and Delhi and other parts of the country. 

  • Now BBC trains its lens on Indian elections

    Now BBC trains its lens on Indian elections

    MUMBAI: Not only political parties but news channels of every hue are gearing up for what is being billed as the mother of all general elections witnessed by this country.

     

    The latest to hit the 2014 election trail is BBC World News, a broadcasting network that needs no prior introduction. For the first time, BBC will be broadcasting live from India with three of its best-known anchors flown into the country to present their shows from the subcontinent – Jon Sopel with Global, Mishal Hussain with Impact, and Babita Sharma with Newsday.

     

    A week of special programming will lead into the main programming starting on the first day of polling on 7 April. This will continue for a week with the three anchors, along with special editions of India Business Report and Talking Business with Linda Yueh. Thereafter, it will rely on the expertise and knowledge of BBC teams in Delhi and Mumbai and the BBC Hindi service.

     

    Alongside the television programming, an Indian version of the bbc.com mobile site will be created for users to land directly on the India page upon clicking the main url. The online content will be trilingual, with predominantly English content along with some in Hindi and Tamil. Among others, the shows will explore angles such as what the election means for India’s neighbours like Pakistan and China and what it means for the rupee.

     

    “India is a massive market. The mobile penetration here is close to 200 million users. Our mobile traffic is up by 350 per cent in three years and there are profound changes going on here. The new India mobile edition will provide a tailored experience, including top India news stories along with global news headlines, video, business, sport and the best from our features content,” says BBC Global News CEO Jim Egan. “It’s a very big editorial undertaking for us. We haven’t taken the channel on the road like this. Topics that interest world audiences such as politics, economy, defence and culture, will be covered. We won’t do it superficially or trivially but bearing in mind that a majority of our viewers are outside India, we won’t do in-depth analysis like local channels.”

     

    BBC correspondent-anchor Sopel is excited to be covering elections live in India. “Election in India is important because India is important. We have a polling day and you have a polling month! That’s because your total electorate is 840 million and the UK just has 48 million,” he says.

     

    While adding a local flavour to its programming, the global broadcaster will ensure it serves BBC values such as impartiality, fairness and balance. “No other international channel has the network of specialist language correspondents that we have,” says Sopel.

     

    On the cards is a marketing campaign in major metros like Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai to let audiences know about BBC’s election coverage both on- and off- air. As of now though, BBC is busy figuring out whether to place the satellite dish in Mumbai or the national capital, depending on costs and feasibility.

  • TV18 launches ETV News Kannada, targets Rs 20 crore revenue

    TV18 launches ETV News Kannada, targets Rs 20 crore revenue

    MUMBAI: With digitization setting in and general elections just round the corner, television networks are increasingly looking to tap regional markets. Not so long ago, Network18 acquired a posse of channels from the Ramoji Rao-founded ETV Group.

     

    And now, its news broadcasting arm – TV18 – has gone ahead with the launch of ETV News Kannada that went live yesterday at 5:00 pm. G N Mohan has been roped in as editor, S Divaakar as business head and Subba Naidu as general manager, with Rajesh Raina as ETV group editor. The channel has 150 full-time employees and nearly 150 stringers on board with the latter to keep a close eye on political developments in each district of Karnataka.

     

    While ETV News Kannada is currently operating out of its Hyderabad studio, the channel will shift base to Bengaluru post-elections and set up five to six bureaus in the state.

     

    Raina sounds confident about the venture.  Speaking to indiantelevision.com, he says,“Ultimately, it is the survival of the fittest. ETV group has always stood for credibility and we are sure we will do well in the market.”. The pay TV channel has already invested Rs 5 crore and will be pumping in another Rs 10 crore in the coming months. “The Karnataka market is very fertile. A 10-second slot in the Hindi market is priced at Rs 500 whereas there, it is nearly Rs 1,500,” says Raina. He added that business worth Rs 50 lakh has already been booked by advertisers.

     

    Official sources say the channel is targetting an ad revenue of Rs 20 crore. 

     

    Promotional campaigns have already begun across Karnataka through radio, transit advertising and digital with print to follow soon. The channel has decided to stay out of outdoor due to the high cost of hoardings in Bengaluru.

     

    Election Express and an election satire are among the shows to be broadcast on the new channel. Initially, the channel will be available on cable TV with DTH platforms yet to be signed on. Karnataka chief minister K Siddaramaiah and Union petroleum and natural gas minister M Veerappa Moily are expected to grace the launch event.

     

    More ETV news channels are expected to follow suit like ETV Himachal/Haryana in March, ETV News Gujarati in April, and ETV News Odia in July.

  • India TV eyes 35 per cent revenue increase in this election year

    India TV eyes 35 per cent revenue increase in this election year

    MUMBAI: With the Election Commission having announced the election schedule, the unfolding political drama has certainly picked up momentum. News channels were already in the fray but will now devote even more air time to election programming in the coming weeks.

      

    On its part, India TV – which recently underwent a makeover to be hailed as a more serious news channel – will start its election programming today, using this as an opportunity to showcase its change in focus. “The commitment was to set new benchmarks in the news presentation. We have already taken leaps in that direction and elections are a direct opportunity for us to showcase the differentiation,” says India TV MD and CEO Ritu Dhawan.

     

    The channel will kick-off its full-fledged version of electioneering next week under the title, ‘Faisla Kursi Ka’. A special election series called Aap Ki Adalat mein Faisla Kursi Ka will feature as part of India TV’s most popular show Aap Ki Adalat with India TV chairman and Editor-in-Chief Rajat Sharma. The regular series will continue alongside.

     

    The channel’s flagship show Aaj Ki Baat Rajat Sharma Ke Saath has already tilted towards elections while newer shows like Yeh Public Sab Janti Hai, Delhi-Darbar, Sitare Zameen Par and Vansh are in the pipeline. “With a firm belief that content which is unlike our competition, not only have we made substantial investment for the same but we have also ensured that our content does not suffer from predictability,” says Dhawan.

     

    Actor Om Puri will host Vansh while the other shows will be anchored by celebrities including Dalip Tahil, Piyush Mishra and Meghna Malik.

     

    According to Dhawan, the aam aadmi’s desire for a change in governance has resulted in a nearly 17 per cent increase in viewership in the news genre, with India TV experiencing an almost 20 per cent increase.

     

    With Hero Motorcorp as presenting sponsor, Shakti Pumps as powered-by sponsor, and many more advertisers and sponsors the likes of Tata Motors, Birla Cement, Ranbaxy, Rupa Hosiery and Emami already on board the channel during election time, India TV is expecting 20 to 35 per cent of additional revenues in this election year, as compared to the earlier non-election one.

     

    “In total, we expect 20 to 35 per cent of additional revenues on a fairly high year-on-year base of a non-election year. That also qualifies as we have made reasonable investments in the content part,” says Dhawan. Sources estimate that the channel is looking at making nearly Rs 180 crore this year.

     

    Coming to the what and how, India TV’s news gathering team will pan across the country’s key constituencies on polling days, complemented by a team of experts in the studio.

     

    “It would not be an exaggeration to say that we will most definitely be omnipresent through our wide network of reporters, stringers and other strategic partners. We have made large investments to further strengthen our news gathering,” signs off Dhawan.

  • Australia Network set to launch on DD Direct+

    Australia Network set to launch on DD Direct+

    MUMBAI: DD Direct+ consumers, starting November, will have an added network to their channel list. Following a recent agreement between ABC International and Doordarshan, Australia Network is all set to launch on DD Direct+.  

     

    Australia Network is a 24/7 entertainment and news channel offering viewers a mix of content from around Australia and the region covering news, sport, science, education, arts, children’s programming, drama and English language learning.  The channel is available in 45 countries across the Asia and Pacific region.

     

    To mark the launch of the new service, the ABC’s agenda-setting panel discussion programme, Q&A, wasl broadcast live from Delhi on Monday 18 November.  Q & A’s host, Tony Jones, led a high profile panel which included India’s Minister of State for Human Resource Development Shashi Tharoor; former Australian cricketer Stuart MacGill;  Australian-born Bollywood star Pallavi Sharda; outspoken conservative commentator Swapan Dasgupta; Tehelka editor Shoma Chaudhury and award-winning TV host and journalist Karan Thapar.  The panel discussed issues of mutual interest to both countries in front of an audience comprising both Indians and Australians.

     

    ABC International is also set to launch a new website for India, AustraliaPlus.com/India – the new digital home of the best of Australian content covering arts and culture, business, education, health, lifestyle, news and current affairs, science, sports, technology and travel.  The website will offer content in both English and Hindi as well as will have an Indian news feed from Doordashan.  The website’s launch closely follows the introduction of ABC International’s Chinese mobile phone app into the China market last month.

     

    “As 2013 nears an end, we are seeing an enormous growth in the sharing of content between India and Australia through a number of channels,” said ABC International CEO Lynley Marshall.

     

    Marshall said the initiatives reflected the growing demand for more information about contemporary Australian life, the growing connections in business, education and tourism and the people to people links.

     

    DD Direct+ CEO Jawhar Sircar said, “We really look forward to having ABC hosted on our DD Direct+ as it helps Indians to understand and appreciate Australia and its culture in a far better manner, and with more depth than at present.”

     

    “We also look forward to ABC assisting and guiding us in telling Australian audiences more about India, its people, and its culture,” he added.

     

    Australia Network is also available in key metropolitan markets across the Indian sub-continent via a number of regional cable and satellite television operators.

  • BBC world news continues to lead as Indias top international news channel

    BBC world news continues to lead as Indias top international news channel

    MUMBAI : BBC World News has maintained its status as the leading international English news channel in India among the country’s affluent, influential opinion leaders, business decision makers (BDMs) and frequent international travellers, according to the latest Ipsos PAX survey.

    BBC World News also beats India’s domestic news channels to take the number one spot for all news channels amongst influential opinion leaders, BDMs, and frequent international travellers.
    The channel reached these positions by beating competitors including CNN, CNBC TV18, NDTV 24×7, Times Now, CNN-IBN and Bloomberg TV India.

    The BBC – including BBC World News and BBC.com – is the only news brand across TV, online and mobile to show quarter on quarter growth. 

    Other findings show:

     

    •    The BBC is the #1 news brand in India among household car owners, luxury goods owners, BDMs and frequent international travellers.

    •    BBC World News is the fastest growing international news channel among India’s affluent, quarter on quarter. 

    •    BBC World News saw growth across key demographics including luxury goods owners, personal investors, first or business class international leisure travellers, influential opinion leaders and BDMs.

    Jim Egan, CEO of BBC Global News Ltd, said: “We are delighted that BBC World News and BBC.com continue to lead the competition in a crucial market. Once again our ability to reach this highly-desirable, upscale target audience is unmatched.”

  • ABP ananda makes history by becoming the first television channel to strike gold at the emvies 2013

    ABP ananda makes history by becoming the first television channel to strike gold at the emvies 2013

    MUMBAI: ABP Ananda a News Channel makes News and history by becoming the first Television Channel to strike Gold and Silver at the prestigious EMVIES 2013. The EMVIE was introduced by the Advertising Club Bombay, honours measurable and significant contributions in the field of Media.

    This year’s EMVIES saw an overwhelming 742 entries from across the country which required more than 100 judges from the Advertising and Marketing  fraternityin Mumbai and Delhi. The leading consumer companies like Unilever, Tata Docomo, P & G had participated in the Awards by sending their entries.

    ABP Ananda’s “Cholchhe Na Aar Cholbe Na”  – a thought leadership campaign on an unprecedented scale struck an emotional chord with the Judges and Viewers  to win 2 of the leading metals at the EMVIES.

    ABP Ananda was awarded the most prestigious Gold EMVIE in the category of Integrated Campaign – Media / Media Property. It is interesting to note that this category had no Silver or Bronze winners.

    ABP Ananda was awarded the Silver EMVIE in the category of Best Media Strategy – Media / Media Property. This was the highest Award in this Category as its pertinent to point out that there were no Gold Winners.

    The EMVIES are awarded by the Ad Club Bombay for the most strategic communication campaigns. The EMVIES use the following criteria to judge winners:

    – ‘What is the strategic objective’,

    -‘What is the big idea’,

    -‘How has the idea has been brought to life’

    and

    -‘What are the results’.