ITV

Tag: News

  • Intl Emmy Awards for news, curent affairs declared

    Intl Emmy Awards for news, curent affairs declared

    MUMBAI: The International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (Iatas) has announced the 2009 International Emmy Awards winners for its News and Current Affairs categories.

     

    In the news category, ‘The ITV News-‘ for UK won the best award for it’s China earthquake coverage, one of the biggest earthquakes in China in the last 30 years.

     

    Meanwhile, ‘Dispatches – Saving Africa’s Witch Children’, a special produced by Red Rebel Films and Oxford Scientific Films for Channel 4 (UK) depicting the plight of Nigerian children accused of being witches, won the Current Affairs Category.

     

    “We congratulate the international reporters and production teams behind these two riveting stories for achieving the difficult task of giving a voice to human drama while crossing cultural boundaries.” said Bruce L. Paisner, President & CEO of The International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

     

    Nominees for 10 other International Emmy Awards categories will be announced on 5 October at the television trade event Mipcom in Cannes, France. Winners will receive their awards at the 37th International Emmy Awards Gala on 23 November in New York City.

  • Regionalism Rules

    There‘s no business like news business. Or at least that’s what it appears given the way new players are surfacing with amazing regularity. The national news market is already packed with players besides new entrants still waiting in the wings. It doesn’t come as a surprise then that regional news channels too are hopping on to the bandwagon.

    The growth in the regional news markets – specifically Maharashtra, West Bengal and the Southern states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh – is remarkable.

    This is why even national news broadcasters are eyeing the regional spaces. Star and Zee already have a presence in West Bengal and Maharashtra. Network18 has just joined the party in Maharashtra with IBN Lokmat.

    The regional news market, year-on-year basis, has grown 13.3 per cent in 2006 and 41.2 per cent in 2007. The first six months of 2008 have seen growth being pegged at 16.7 per cent, leading to the regional news audience share touching 2.8 – which is a doubling from 1.4 per cent in 2004.

    Moreover, ad volume is also seeing exponential growth, according to Tam Adex. It says that ad volume on regional news channels (combined Marathi, Bengali, Southern) in 2006 was 17,682 seconds.The amount virtually doubled in 2007 to touch 31,167 seconds. Even in the first five months of 2008, the ad volume was 18,843 seconds.

     

    South Rules!

    The southern broadcast news market is the most lucrative amongst Indian regional plays. Apart from the subcontinent, the channels have viewership in Sri Lanka, China, the Middle East, UK, Canada, Europe, Australia and parts of South Africa and the United States.

    Recently, the southern market has seen much activity: launches, announcements of launches, changes in political equations and an increased intensity of competition in almost every language segment –Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada or Telugu.

    The Tamil news segment for instance is just opening up following the public parting of ways between Kalanidhi Maran‘s Sun Network and his grand-uncle and Tamil Nadu chief minister M Karunanidhi.

    As of now, Tamil Nadu has three major players: Sun News from Sun Network, Jaya Plus from the AIADMK backed Jaya TV and
    Raj News from Raj TV. The DMK backed Kalaignar TV also runs its own news bulletins. The free-to-air Mega TV, a 24-Tamil news, current affairs and entertainment channel, promoted by State Congress MP KV Thangabalu, completes the Tamil news pack.

    An interesting point to note is that the market is nascent and players are taking it easy: Raj News, for instance, has invested Rs 300 million, but has yet to start generating revenues. “Our investment is about Rs 300 million, and break even will be in three years. From next year we will start billing,” says Raj TV Network promoter Rajendran.

    The other large southern language news segment is Telugu with competition intense in Andhra Pradesh. The Telugu news leader TV9 (backed by Associated Broadcasting Corporation) appears to have ambitions to launch news channels in almost every language segment. It is followed by ETV2 – the news channel from ETV. The other big players are NTV News, TV5 News and Sun’s Gemini News.

    Even Zee News Limited is planning its own Telugu offering Zee 24-Ghantalu, following its Bangla and Marathi launches.

    TV9, meanwhile, has shown incredible growth in Karnataka, where it is much ahead of Sun’s Udaya Varthegalu and Suvarna News.

    In Kerala, Manorama News is leading the comparatively smaller market. Among other players are Asianet News, People TV and India Vision. Even the state unit of the Congress recently launched Jai Hind TV with much fanfare.

     

    Jai Maharashtra

    The Marathi news market is a little less than Rs 80 million in ad revenues with three 24-hour news channels, Star Majha, Zee 24-Taas and IBN Lokmat. ETV Marathi, Mi Marathi, and state broadcaster DD Sahyadri also produce news but they are part of what are essentially Marathi entertainment channels.

    Industry observers say that the Marathi news segment is still in the teething stage as it accounts for a measely 5 per cent of the entire Marathi advertising market (including entertainment television) estimnated at Rs 2 billion. “It is yet to get over its initial hiccups and grow to achieve its true potential,” says an observer.

    With the launch of more Marathi news channels, the category will possibly have better representation and may lead to more moolah.

    “I see a huge growth potential in the Marathi news segment,” says Zee News CEO Barun Das. “Marathi 24-hour news channels are now gaining acceptance among viewers as well as advertisers. The future of this market seems far better than what it is now.”

    Tam data suggests that Star Majha was the Marathi news leader (in terms of relative share) before the launch of Global Broadcast News’ IBN Lokmat.

    Within three months of its launch, IBN Lokmat has captured a significant market share. Star Majha and Zee 24-Taas are running neck-and-neck with IBN Lokmat not lagging far behind.

    Marathi news channels agree that content-wise the needs of local viewers are different.They cannot be fobbed off with infotainment; what they look for is hardcore news – be it regional, national or international. For informative entertainment, they have the option of tuning in to other Marathi and Hindi GECs.

    A major chunk of the news, around 70 per cent comes from the region or state, while national news share is 20 per cent. The balance 10-odd per cent is from international developments.

    Aamar Shonaar Bangla

    The Bangla news market is much bigger than its Marathi counterpart with media analysts pegging it at more than Rs 600 million. The reason lies in the common belief that the Bengali channels targeting West Bengal are also watched in neighbouring Bangladesh, making it lucrative for broadcasters.

    “The Bengalis’ appetite for news in the mother tongue is higher than that in Maharashtra. Also, Kolkata is less cosmopolitan as compared to Mumbai,” points out Das.

    Interestingly, Bengalis tend to have a penchant for news rather than general entertainment. That’s why Tara Bangla split itself into two channels – Tara Newz and Tara Muzik (a music entertainment channel).

    The other players in the arena are Star Ananda, Zee 24-Ghanta, Kolkata TV and the recently launched NE News. Star Ananda clearly is leading the pack in this market.

    Even ETV, for instance, has dedicated 20 per cent of its programming to news on the Bengali channel.

    Apart from that, state broadcaster DD7, or DD Bangla channel delivers news.

    Media Content and Communications Services (MCCS), the company that runs Star Ananda, is bullish about the future. And what about the space getting crowed?

    “In fact, I see competition helping the market to expand even further,” says MCCS CEO Ashok Venkataramani. That perhaps is the dictum across all the channel segments.

    The story first appeared in Indiantelevision.com‘s The NT Magazine. The PDF of the magazine can be accessed at http://www.ntawards.tv/y2k8/nt_mag.pdf.

  • Stress 24×7?

    On a typical day, you could see Sujay Gupta juggling three phones, hurriedly taking notes and issuing advisories to his team of reporters. The chief of Mumbai bureau’s job in a premier news channel like NDTV 24×7 is much sought after but not so for 38-year-old Gupta. One day, on a drive back home, he took a considered view and gave it all up. He ended the lease of his cosy apartment in Bandra, and took the first flight to Goa.

     

    “The nature of the news television market in India is such that there is very little scope of decreasing stress levels,” rues Gupta. “Pressures to perform are a part of newsrooms across the globe, but in India it’s different given the number of channels we have. The demand is no more on doing big or better researched stories; it’s all about breaking stories.”

     

    It is indeed

    There was a time when viewers were left with no choice but to watch national channel Doordarshan. But with Indian television going through a revolution and given the arrival of as many as 80 news channels it’s a very different story now.

     

    While there are no specific recruitment forecasts available for the sector, global staffing services firm Manpower says the media and entertainment industry has the highest employment potential in the country, with 58 per cent employers intending to hire more people in the third quarter this year.

     

    So while viewers are flooded with a variety of options when it comes to watching news on the small screen, the rise of so many channels has also given birth to greater stress in the newsrooms.

     

    Every channel is under pressure to deliver something new, that little extra which is more relevant to its viewers… a story that is perhaps the first of its kind!

     

    Says Gupta, “We have more news channels than whole of Europe put together. The trouble is that the competition is not just between offerings of the same genre. National channels compete with even regional news channels. For instance, in Mumbai, NDTV not only locks horns with CNN-IBN but also with a Marathi channel like Star Majha.”

     

    Evidently, the concept of a straightforward story doesn’t exist any more. The objective is to look at every conceivable angle and generate at least three stories from what would be just one. Plus, the pressure to break news.

     

    Veteran journalist and media educator Paranjoy Guha Thakurta puts the blame on media owners. “These days, proprietors do not want to invest in human resources. Consequently, a person is forced to multitask. The technology too ensures that a person can easily do the tasks that two or three people would do earlier. So with media owners not investing enough in experienced manpower, even though the younger lot of people are intelligent, hardworking and very talented, they do not necessarily have a good judgment of the important news. This leads to an increase in stress levels.”

     

    Some media professionals who are currently sailing in the same boat too corroborate the view that young journalists are impatient and this attitude also often leads to stress.

     

    Says CNN-IBN deputy foreign editor Suhasini Haider, “There is no single reason behind the rise in stress levels. One of the major factors is a huge increase in competition. Apart from this, people today have no personal opinion about a particular subject or topic. There are no niches. So journalists are made to do stories on a wide range of issues. Also, newsrooms these days are younger than ever. Young journalists do not prepare themselves mentally before joining. They just want to report as soon as they join.”

     

    IBN7 executive editor Sanjeev Paliwal believes that the stress is caused by the demands of the job. “We are living in a very competitive and challenging environment and the entire country relies on us to bring news to them in an accurate and timely manner. With expectations soaring, it is obvious that pressure in a newsroom is bound to be high. New channels ask for newer ways of gathering market intelligence being devised. This is good for the industry but is also leading to a lot of extra pressure.”

     

    What’s more, this greater stress has also at times directed to loss of life. Senior journalists Appan Menon and S P Singh, who were stars in the early days of non-Doordarshan-run news programming, lost their lives at an early age. And one of the reasons cited was mounting newsroom pressure.

     

    Thakurta, 52, feels that though stress is escalating it also depends on individuals and their way of dealing with stress. “Late S P Singh and Appan Menon were brilliant journalists. Yes, it is true that they died at a young age. Both of them worked at a time when Indian news television industry was at a nascent stage and I presume that both of them faced stress. I too suffered a heart attack last year. Having said this I would like to emphasise that though stress is prevalent in this industry, it’s also a state of mind. And it depends on individuals on how they cope with stress.”

     

    But there are many in the profession who feel that media is all about stress, and those who do not have the capacity to endure the pressure, should not enter the profession. “I do not agree that stress is increasing,” says Times Now editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami. “In fact it is wrong to use the word stress,’’ he adds. Television newsrooms, says Goswami, are now “buzzing with excitement”. “A newsroom does not operate like a bank… it’s more animated. There is more action, a zeal to do something exciting. Therefore, people who cannot face the heat should not enter the kitchen.”

     

    According to NewsX newsroom head Arup Ghosh, stress is not a new entrant to the newsroom, “I don’t think that stress is something new for journalists; it was always there. The longer hours of work also impacts personal life. One reason for this is increase in competition because of presence of so many channels. Another fact leading to rise is stress is dearth of talent. The established and the experienced management is under pressure to nurture fresh talent; at the same time retaining talent is also stressful because the moment the young talent pool that comes in learns the technique, the tendency to switch jobs increases.”

     

    Just chill!

    Some medical practitioners feel that its about time that news channels take the responsibility towards providing an opportunity to destress. Dr Sanjay Pattanayak, a psychiatrist at Delhi’s Vidyasagar Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences (Vimhans), says work and peer pressure are the two basic reasons for stress levels going north. “Journalists now have less time to relax. Thus, it is important for them to have a good social support, good diet and exercise regularly to unwind.”

     

    Leading psychiatrist Dr Sanjay Chug explains, “These days’ news channels give greater focus on TRPs than the actual job. Also this has led to much competition which in turn has erased the concept of fixed working hours. Moreover, it should not be forgotten that, the nature of the work in journalism is stressful enough and all these factors have added to increase in stress.”

     

    And what is the solution to beat stress? Says Dr Chug, “Ideally, there’s need for a change in the work culture of our channels, but since that is a long-term task, there are smaller steps that can be taken to cut down pressures and prevent breakdowns.”

     

    He advises the mandatory and routine drug tests for all, mandatory and routine psychological assessments covering anxiety like depression levels, suicide risk assessment, adjustment problems. “It would also help if a counseling cell is provided to employees. Also, news channels can have 10 minutes of destressing every few hours which can be applicable uniformly to the entire workforce wherein people can do on-desk exercises, power naps, guided relaxations etc.”

     

    Even as there are conflicting views from practitioners on stress levels in the profession, many newsroom HR heads seem to be aware of the problems on hand. Says India Today group corporate head – human resource Geetanjali Pandit Gupta, “In this business, the performance is reviewed daily. Hence it increases stress levels. Destressing has to begin with correct manning and solving the external factors.”

     

    At some organisations, the first step has already been taken towards ensuring employees have few reasons to complain.

     

    Network 18 Group head – HR Rajneesh Singh elucidates, “At Network18, we understand the pressures. So at the basic level, we provide our employees with facilities like cr?che, shuttle service, cabs and 24-hour availability of food, water and security. At the next level, we have a gym and offer facilities for games so that employees can unwind. We also organise workshops, celebrate birthdays, have monthly parties and off-sites that gives everyone a chance to enjoy together, have fun and relax.”

     

    But INX media head – human resources Dhruva Sen believes that parties or get togethers need not be the right prescription for bringing down stress levels. “They only divert attention for a bit.” So what’s his solution? “Possibly establish a recreation room where people can enter and read or sit simply loosen up.”

     

    The onus of destressing employees, India Today’s Gupta hastens to add, should not fall only on the HR of a company as employees are aware of what they are getting into. “There is only one way of getting rid of stress. And that is to provide employees enough resources to do their work,” she says.

     

    Thakurta says tensions are an inherent part of any news channel as one can never know what is going to happen next. Also the fact that media owners do not wish to invest in experienced people leads to increase in stress as young people might be intelligent, hardworking and talented but they are not better judge of importance of news. Experienced people know which piece of news is more important to cover. This has further lead to dilution of standards including ethical standards.”

     

    And while some in this profession have learnt to cope with stress, there are others like Gupta who have succumbed to the mounting pressure and have either left or are continuing with much difficulty. Gupta chose to opt out, and is chronicling the Scarlett Keeling saga for a leading London daily, advising a corporate group on starting a local channel and an assorted number of things to achieve nirvana. “It’s important to enjoy what you are doing,” he says while revealing plans to promote the Goan feni. Nirvana, surely.

    The story first appeared in Indiantelevision.com‘s The NT Magazine. The PDF of the magazine can be accessed at http://www.ntawards.tv/y2k8/nt_mag.pdf.

  • A Question of Balance

    The public have an insatiable curiosity to know everything. Except what is worth knowing. Journalism, conscious of this, and having tradesman-like habits, supplies their demands.

    – Oscar Wilde (1854 – 1900)

     

    The great playwright passed away over a hundred years back, but the essence of the statement is being much debated in India. With reason.

     

    Over the last few months, a section of the news channels have been showcasing content that one would’ve never quite expected to see on an offering that’s supposed to air news and current affairs.

    Purists are aghast, but many in the business see nothing wrong.

     

    With peculiar Indian curiosity to know about the minutest detail of the lives of the others, the appetite and consumption of news is on its growling pounce. News channels – at least a section of them – satiate the curiosity which derives voyeuristic pleasure from gossip and rumours.

     

    Because it is this cacophony of subjects of coverage that offers something for everyone, that is driving up not just the ratings, but also revenues for Hindi news channels. And while there are those who wonder when the Hindi news engine will start to lose its steam, most are in agreement that it is not going to be any time soon.

     

    The statistics though are telling. The advertising revenue of the new segment in the fiscal year 2006-07 is Rs 9.8 billion. In FY 08 it has touched Rs 12 billion and expected to grow to Rs 14.5 billion by the fiscal end.

     

    According to industry research body Tam, in the January-June 2008 period, 54.2 per cent of the content on Hindi news channels was not news. And among English channels, the number is 38.4. This evidently seemed to help the ad volume. As per Tam Adex, ad volume growth in Hindi and English news channels which stood at 47,449 seconds in 2006 jumped to 62,173 in 2007. In the six-months period from January to June, it has already clocked 36,398 seconds.

     

     

    The share of ad volumes of news channels in the overall TV advertising pie has been growing steadily. It went up 16 per cent in 2007 from 15 per cent in 2006. Says MCCS CEO Ashok Ventaramani, “The advertising revenue of the market has been growing with a CAGR of 18 per cent since the last five years.”

     

    There is no doubt that advertising is the fuel that drives the satellite boom and India’s burgeoning news channels trade.

     

    The consumption of news too has increased. From 6.9 per cent in 2006, the Hindi news genre has surged to 7.4 per cent to end-2007 (Tam, c&s, HSM, 15+). In the first half of 2008, it is well-placed at 7 per cent as compared to 32 per cent covered by the Hindi entertainment channels (GECs).

    Rank Top Advertisers in 2007
    1 Hindustan Unilever Ltd
    2 Bharti Airtel Ltd
    3 Tata Teleservices
    4 Paras Pharmaceuticals Ltd
    5 Tata Motors Ltd
    6 Homeshop18
    7 Reliance Communications Ltd
    8 Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd
    9 Coca Cola India Ltd
    10 Emami Limited
    Source:Tam

    With the genre of the TV news consumption getting expanded, the advertising trend has also changed in a short span of two years. In 2006, the top advertisers rooster which was ruled by categories like car/jeep, corporate (brand image), social advertisements, suiting, hosiery and pan masala or gutkha no longer feature in it . The top categories in 2007 and 2008 have been replaced by categories like cellular services, internet and SMS services.
     

     

    In 2008, direct-to-home (DTH) service and real estate are the unique categories that feature in the top advertisers. Advertisers like Biswanath Hosiery which topped the list in 2006 have been replaced by cellular services like Reliance Communication, Vodafane Essar in 2007 and 2008. In the first half of 2008, the top five advertisers slots are filled up by cellular services.

    Rank Top Advertisers in 2008 (H1)
    1 Reliance Communications Ltd
    2 Vodafone Essar Ltd
    3 Hindustan Unilever Ltd
    4 Bharti Airtel Ltd
    5 Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd
    6 Reckitt Benckiser (India) Ltd
    7 British Broadcasting Corporation
    8 Life Insurance Corporation of India
    9 Tata Teleservices
    10 Idea Cellular Ltd
    Source:Tam

    The entry of a new set of viewers is attributed as the reason for newer categories of advertisers mostly targeting mostly to Sec A and Sec B. They have higher purchasing power, making them more attractive clients for advertisers. As per Tam, 51 per cent of news channels viewers are from 35+ years, 28 per cent comes from 15-24 years and the rest 22 per cent are from 25-34 years.

     

     

    What’s on the menu?

     

    To a large extent, revenue flows determine how content is produced, packaged and put on airwaves by news channels. This leads to a permanent tension between the journalistic and commercial imperatives of media entities and affects the very nature of news programming.

     

    According to Tam, from January to June in 2008, Hindi news channel have covered 45.8 per cent of news bulletin followed by reviews and reports (15.8 per cent), religious and devotional stories (9.9 per cent), cricket match (9.2), action and thriller (4.9 per cent), comedies (4.1 per cent), film based magazines (2.6 per cent).

    English news channels have covered 61.6 per cent news and bulletins, reviews and reports (8 per cent), film based magazines (7 per cent), cricket matches (6.8 per cent) and comedies (1 per cent).

     

    In various Hindi news channels, cricket has been featured differently in Ye Cricket Kuch Kehta Hain (Aaj Tak), Nach Le Cricket (Aaj Tak), Disco Cricket (Star News) while Khali has seen a variety of presentations like Khali Ki Khalbali, Khali Karega Khatma and Khali Sae Bali. Gods blessed the news channels in shows like Zinda Hain Rawan, Sabko Mil Gaye Ram and Kaise Dekhe Ram.

     

    Star News claims that in the week ending 1 March, 41 per cent of the content in its channel was news bulletin while the rest was religious, crime and cricket-centric stories. Religious stories were 8 per cent while sports reviews, comedies, business shows, crime and thrillers were 7 per cent each. Cricket-based shows grabbed 10 per cent while film shows managed 1 per cent of the entire content pie.

     

    Times Now editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami scoffs at the suggestion that viewers go away if channel don’t go strong on soft stories. He cites the example of the Khali episode. “Times Now did not devout a single second to Khali, yet we did not lose out on viewers and market share.”

     

     

    News channels are realising this fast enough. Recently, Zee Group chairman Subhash Chandra announced that his channel is bringing news back in its original form . With the new positioning of ‘Zara Socheye’, Zee News promises to shun stories on godmen and superstitions.

     

    Says Zee News CEO Barun Das, “It is high time someone realise that a news channel is meant for only news. He stresses on the fact that after the repackaging of Zee News, he has managed to make it “non-entertaining” yet “non-boring”.

     

     

     

     

    How channels stack up?

     

    In the Hindi news genre, from January to June 2008 six month period, long-time leader Aaj Tak still rules the roost with an average relative market share of 18.98 (Tam, c&s, HSM, 15 +) per cent, followed by Star News with 17.94 per cent. In the third spot is India TV in terms of average relative market share (14.43 per cent).

     

    However, a closer look on month-on-month index puts India TV on the forefront in the month of May and in June shares the top spot with Aaj Tak (19 per cent each). Aaj Tak has been almost consistent with 19 per cent market share in the six month period. Its sister concern channel Tez has averaged 5.55 per cent.

     

    India TV opened the year with 14 per cent to gradually move upto 19 per cent. Star News which was so far on the channel is meant for only news. He stresses on the fact that after the repackaging of Zee News, he has managed to make i t “non-entertaining” yet “non-boring”.

     

     

    The six-month average of IBN7 is 8.92 per cent while NDTV India has an average of 8.11 per cent. Samay has 4.91 per cent from January to June. Newly launched channel News24 has an average of 4.42 per cent, Live India average 3.24 per cent while public broadcaster Doordarshan managed to pull 3.14 per cent.

     

     

    The English news segment still continues with a three-way tussle. Six-month average places CNN-IBN with 29.09 per cent (Tam, c&s, All India, 15+) , NDTV 24X7 with 28.91 per cent while Times Now is at 28.58 per cent. Headlines Today stands at 13.34 per cent.

     

     

    Blame it on distribution?

    Advertising is central to privately owned news businesses across the world and in India Indian TV channels derive roughly 70 per cent of their revenues from advertising and about 30 per cent from subscriptions.

     

    Venkataramani says, “Depending upon the band preferences of the channel, the distribution cost of a national channel can range anything between Rs 200-800 million.”

     

    A large proportion of subscription revenue is consumed by cable operators and since broadcasters do not control their own distribution they can not pinpoint the exact number of viewers. Ratings therefore become vital as the currency of success.

     

    A senior executive at a news channel who request anonymity vehemently opposes the Tam rating system. He argues that content is mainly driven by the Tam ratings. Explaining further, he says that most of the time, the editorial is forced to do stories which categorically caters to the places or states where Tam peoplemeters are placed.

     

    The ratings, however do not represent all the states with a limited number of peoplementer which are absent in states like Bihar, North East and Jammu and Kashmir. This factor alone has tremendous impact on the content, programme packaging and imperative of selling airtime advertisers.

     

    A man hit by a bull in the streets of Delhi will get more coverage and footage than five men killed in Darjeeling or Assam. The reason is only that peoplemeters are located in Delhi and not in the hill zones.

     

    For a Delhiwallah, the neighbourhood report naturally gets more hits in the peoplemeter. “The content is thus decided by the geographical placement of the peoplemeter to get spikes in the ratings.

     

    Hence, some parts of India (where the peoplemeter is absent) and some stories are left untouched or given very little importance,” says the executive.

     

    Over and above this constraint, with most news channels being free-to-air and hence not making any monies from subscriptions, their dependence on advertising and hence ratings is total.

     

    A frequent complaint of news broadcasters is the heavy distribution cost.Broadcasters say more than half of the outlay goes in paying for reach, which cuts other costs like human resources. That is why a reporter cannot be placed in the interiors as it has its own costs. A virtual studio ultimately becomes the easy answer.

     

    Says IBN7 managing editor Ashutosh, “Distribution costs have gone up tremendously because of the clutter of channels. This is in fact affects quality as a lot of money from a fixed budget goes into distribution, and channels compromise on quality. If only we could be patient, a lot of difference could come in.”

     

    “The single biggest problem in the industry today is distribution. It is getting more and more competitive, as more and more channels come into business. The cost is enormous and growing wildly, and it is hurting every broadcaster from the biggest to the smallest, free-to-air (FTA) or pay.

     

    “In this battle, multi-system operator (MSO) and local cable operator (LCO) point fingers at each other, but either way it is costing the broadcaster. And money that could and should have been spent on content is getting spent on distribution instead, and it weakens the industry,” said a the broadcasting executive.

     

    India is the only country in the world with more than 80 24-hour TV channels broadcasting programmes on news and current affairs, barely a quarter-century after the world‘s first 24-hour TV news channel (CNN or Cable News Network) came up in 1980.

     

    The challenge for the news broadcasters in 2008 would be to turn the tables – lower the carriage fees and churn out revenue from subscription. Till the dependence on advertising revenue hangs on, there will be more breaking stories, exclusive stories, Amitabh Bachchan going to Shirdi, Siddhivinayak Temple et al, Salman Khan’s doings and live do or die, battle between godmen and rationalists.

    The story first appeared in Indiantelevision.com‘s The NT Magazine. The PDF of the magazine can be accessed at http://www.ntawards.tv/y2k8/nt_mag.pdf.

  • Where is the ‘News’?

    News is back,” said Anurradha Prasad at the launch of B.A.G Films and Media‘s Hindi news channel News24. Now does that simply indicate that news channels in India are currently devoid of “news” in its truest and purest form? A content analysis reveals something more…

    India‘s experience with TV remains unique. It is the only country in the world with more than three dozen 24-hour TV channels broadcasting programmes on news and current affairs, barely a quarter-century after the world‘s first 24-hour TV news channel (CNN or Cable News Network) came up in 1980. Till 1991, television viewers in India could view only the channels broadcast by Doordarshan. That landscape significantly changed with the invasion of private satellite news channels.

    Hindi news channels have been consistently accused of invariably having less news and more entertainment. Litres of ink and loads of paper have been spent, arguing that news channels are no longer part of the anti-establishment group as they carry only those stories that fetch them gold.

    Agrees IBN7 managing editor Ashutosh: “Over the last few years, the concept of news has changed. Even for those who used to watch political news, it is no longer a good proposition, as there are no charismatic leaders. The UPA government has not thrown up any leader worth following as news. Even the newspapers‘ political coverage has changed. All this has happened mainly because it is now all about eyeball chasing, and it is getting from bad to worse.”

    While speaking to indiantelevision.com earlier, Aaj Tak news director QW Naqvi had said: “Talking of the year 2007, I feel the audience has changed its choice and appeal. Issues like corruption don‘t appeal to viewers anymore. Maybe, people have accepted it as an integral part of our society. Therefore, an exposé featuring corruption doesn‘t interest the audience, to a large extent.”

    Undoubtedly there has been a paradigm shift of news. While many argue that news in itself has shifted its meaning, others ask who defines news. For some, naag-naagin shaadi (marriage of snakes) is just as important as a barbaric killing in Singur or Nandigarm.

    To further quote Naqvi: “No doubt, television news industry has grown at such a frantic pace that it has created certain pitfalls. All-out efforts in the past year were made to grab viewership. In this mad race, at times content was compromised and true journalism took a back seat. Compounding this malady, mushrooming news channels tended to water down the impact of many meaningful news reports.”

    Says Media Content and Communications Services (MCCS) managing editor Shazi Zaman, “Central to our selection of news is the impact it will have on people and the interest that people have in the story. The last few years have seen new viewers added, many of whom have non-traditional preferences. The changes in the content of news channels are a reflection of this shift.”

    In the last one or two years, it seemed Hindi news channels took a cue from the Hindi film fraternity. Whatever was hit in the news space was seen as a formula and followed thereafter.

    First came a wave of family drama, matrimonial discord, violence and divorce. Once it reached its fatigue, the audience got bored and the news content searched for a different formula.

    Then came ghost stories. News channels vied with each other for showing horror stories. While this content was very short lived, it was also alleged that some of the news reports were concocted.

    After ghost stories, came the Baba wave, followed by amazing videos. This was a completely new phenomenon. In these videos, channels showed people performing crazy feats. But finally this, too, seems to be nearing its end.

    Says Zaman, “Experimentation is the result of a desire to reach out to more and more people and to cater to as many tastes as possible. In 2007, news became more encompassing than ever before. Thus, it was no coincidence that the year of experimentation was also the year that saw genre expansion.”

    A study by the Delhi-based Centre for Media Studies (CMS) says that the three C‘s of cricket, cinema and crime lord over politics in Hindi news channels. The study shows that news channels have undergone a radical transformation, whereby news has not only changed in its definition and content, but also in the manner in which it is presented.

    Hindi news channels have seen a rise in comedy and reality show content, the emergence and establishment of trivia in news, and most significantly, the end of political news dominance.

    According to the CMS Media Lab, the time spent on political news in the year 2007 has come down by more than 50 per cent. Political news coverage by Hindi news channels has dipped from 23.1 per cent in 2005 to 10.09 per cent in 2007.

    On the other hand, sports, entertainment, crime and human interest news have managed to almost double up from 27.9 per cent in 2005 to 53.1 per cent in 2007. At the same time, agriculture, education, health and environment-related news have not seen any net change; their coverage has been as insignificant in 2007 as earlier.

    Ashutosh reverts, “Careful studies show that it is not sports coverage that has gone up, but cricket. There is hardly any non-cricket sports news. For the past two years, there have been so many controversies, and cricket news is being covered even for other reasons like Sourav being dropped, Rahul Dravid becoming the captain, the entire Chappell controversy. Secondly, in cricket India has been doing exceedingly well. So far as crime reporting is concerned, there is a lot of drama, and it is just right for television.”

    “Besides, the entertainment industry has grown tremendously, and they have realised the power of news channels. They are marketing their products through news channels, and all the big films have media partners,” he adds.

    News broadcasters also feel that serious stories without any element of drama have a short life in the Hindi news space.

    Naqvi points out that “Operation Kalank” (the Aaj Tak-Tehelka exposé on the connivance of state administration in sheltering and helping the riot accused in 2002) in a normal news environment would have shaken the foundation of governance in both Ahmedabad and Delhi.

    “But the shelf life of this haunting exposé was hardly a few days. It did shake up the intelligentsia and society for a while, but it was not the topic of discussion in most drawing rooms after even a week. Not much changed either. Even though our channels kept the issue alive for a few days, the story did not really move forward. And this, I presume, is largely due to a variety of news being aired by a host of channels.”

    He says further that there was another good story on another channel, portraying a major scandal in UP. That exposé showed how police in UP has surpassed all levels of corruption. For as little as Rs 3,000, police officers were acting as contract killers and shooting down people in fake “encounters.” This was not an insignificant story. Rather, it was a crucial exposé showing the depths of corruption within the police force. Had this story appeared a few years ago, it would have made national headlines and would have been the talking point for a long time. But in today‘s circumstances, it vanished from the scene within days and could not even attract print media‘s attention.

    A few broadcasters also believe that in the last two years there has been a clutter in the Hindi news space with some addition to it, which subsequently had its toll on the quality and focus of the content.

    “This has to be attributed to the overcrowding in the TV news space, which has reduced the audience attention span. There are so many news items being dished out that your interest in something of importance vanishes swiftly. Rather, to retain audience interest many a time too many stories are being splashed, so that the audience doesn‘t move away,” added Naqvi.

    A general rundown of Tam‘s (television audience measurement) top five programmes on Hindi news channels cannot be hard to guess: wrestler Khali, stand-up comedian Raju Srivastav, Lord Ram have been a hot favourite with the Hindi news channels in the past few months.

    Star News‘ comedy capsules edited out from Star One‘s The Great Indian Laughter Challenge, which is hosted by an anchor in a virtual studio with good number of ad breaks, has figured highest in the top five programmes in the last few months as per the data provided by Tam.

    Cricket has been featured differently in Ye Cricket Kuch Kehta Hain (Aaj Tak), Nach Le Cricket (Aaj Tak), Disco Cricket (Star news) while Khali has seen a variety of presentations like Khali Ki Khalbali, Khali Karega Khatma and Khali Sae Bali. Gods blessed the news channels in shows like Zinda Hain Rawan, Sabko Mil Gaye Ram and Kaise Dekhe Ram.

    Star News claims that in the week 9 ending 1 March, 41 per cent of the content in its channel was news bulletin while the rest was religious, crime and cricket-centric stories. Religious stories were 8 per cent while sports reviews, comedies, business shows, crime and thriller were 7 per cent each. Cricket-based shows grabbed 10 per cent while film shows managed 1 per cent of the entire content pie.

    One of the senior editors of a Hindi news channel vehemently opposes the Tam rating system. He argues that content is mainly driven by the Tam ratings. Explaining further, he says that most of the time the editorial is forced to do stories which categorically caters to the places or states where the Tam Peoplemeters are placed.

    A man hit by a bull in the streets of Delhi will get more coverage and footage than five men killed in Darjeeling or Assam. The reason is only that peoplemeters are located in places of Delhi and not in the hill zones. For a Delhite, the former story is about the neighbouhood which compulsorily gets more hits in the peoplemeter.

    “The content is decided by the geographical placement of the peoplemeter to get spikes in the ratings chart. Hence, some parts of India (where peoplemeter is absent) and some stories are left untouched or given very little importance,” says the senior editor.

    Another complaint of the news broadcasters is the heavy distribution cost. Broadcasters say more than half of the outlay goes in the distribution cost, which cuts other costs like human resources. That is why a reporter cannot be placed in the interiors as it has its own costs. A virtual studio ultimately becomes the easy answer.

    Ashutosh says, “Distribution cost has gone up tremendously because of the clutter of channels. This is in fact affecting quality as a lot of money from a fixed budget goes into distribution, and channels have not learnt to be patient enough to give quality products. If only we could be patient, a lot of difference could come in.”

    All said and done, Hindi news content is still doubted of its news value. Instances like a sting operation on a Delhi school teacher gone horribly wrong by Live India have forced the Information and Broadcasting ministry to consider taking the editorial reigns in its hands by the Broadcast Bill. Until then it is a merry time for all.

  • Time for global news in Marathi

    With national news broadcasters feeling the need to expand into regional markets, it is the Marathi space that is grabbing their attention.Joining Zee 24-Taas and Star Majha in the fight for the 120 million TV viewers of Maharashtra will soon be IBN-Lokmat, the Marathi news channel from the GBN-Lokmat joint venture (JV) company.

    So, is the Marathi TV news market getting cluttered or will there will be a slice of the cake big enough for them?

    For starters, let us look at the fight between the two existing channels – Zee 24-Taas and Star Majha, the eight-month-old channel from the JV between the ABP group and Star.

    Star Majha is leading the race by far, stepping ahead since its second month of launch (See table for channel share).

    Channel Share 2007 (%)
    Channel Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
    Star Majha 30 56 56 58 59 63 58
    Zee 24 Taas 70 44 44 42 41 37 42
    Source: TAM Peoplemeter System, Maharashtra Market, CS 15+

    The gap has widened in 2008 with Star Majha enjoying a higher channel share (See table).

    Channel Share 2008 (%)
    Channel WK 1 WK 2 WK 3 WK 4 WK 5 WK 6 WK 7
    Star Majha 70 69 69 65 77 78 75
    Zee 24 Taas 30 31 31 35 23 22 25
    Source: TAM Peoplemeter System, Maharashtra Market, CS 15+

    Zee 24-Taas explains its slip to distribution issues. “In terms of reach, we are less than half of that of Star Majha. There are issues that involve revamping the deals with cable operators,” says Zee 24-Taas news head Ravikant Mittal.

    Mittal, however, claims viewers spend more time on the channel than on Star Majha. “Though our reach is limited, a viewer spends about 33 minutes on our channel as compared to the 26 minutes on Star Majha. We have faith in our content,” he adds.

    In terms of content, Zee 24-Taas claims of being a regional channel with national outlook and an international look, whereas Star Majha says it is a national news channel in Marathi.

    “The reason for our growth is that we know our viewers like to see global news in their mother tongue. That is what we are providing them – world-class news in their own language,” maintains Star Majha editor Rajiv Khandekar.

    IBN-Lokmat is looking at a different positioning. Says editorial director Nikhil Wagle, “Ours will be a global news channel in Marathi language; we are not regional players.”

    IBN-Lokmat is banking on a large infrastructure network to cover the state. Says Wagle, “We will have 13 bureaux spread across the state. We are also going to have the latest technology to support our news flow.”

    Zee 24-Taas has a network of eight bureaux and 30 stringers across Maharashtra while Star Majha has six bureaux. For news outside Maharashtra, both rely on their national news networks.

    The Marathi news channels agree that the needs of the local viewers are different. They cannot be fobbed off with infotainment; what they look for is hardcore news – be it regional, national or international. For informative entertainment, they have the option of tuning in to other Marathi and Hindi general entertainment channels.

    “More competition will prompt us to bring quality to our viewers,” says Wagle.

    As far as revenue is concerned, Zee 24-Taas and Star Majha claim to have roped in a long list of advertisers. Says Mittal, “We have every big advertiser with us. Maharashtra being a big and financially important state, it is natural to see ad growth.”

    Agrees Khandekar, “30 per cent of all the GRPs of national Hindi news channels come from Maharashtra. With the kind of ratings and programming we have, revenue is kicking in.”

    The climate may get spoilt with the entry of IBN-Lokmat. The size of the Marathi TV news market isn‘t big enough, with estimates putting it at under Rs 600 million. Besides the two dedicated satellite news channels, there is ETV Marathi which runs a popular band of news slots and DD Sahyadri.

    The channels, however, feel that the size of the pie will only grow with more entrants. Says Mittal, “The space is not cluttered; it can fit in more players.”

  • Media stocks under fire as Sensex crashes

    MUMBAI: Finance minister P Chidambaram‘s `no nothing‘ offer to the media sector came as no surprise except in the area of set-top boxes (STBs) where one thought a push would be given in terms of sops to boost the local manufacturing industry. There is very little that the Budget can offer in realistic terms and the past trend continued this time too.

     

    If the Union Budget 2007-08 hurt the media stocks today, it was more to do with the announcements that were made as part of an overall corporate sector tax policy. There were, in fact, three tax proposals that could pinch the industry but in varying degrees.

    First, and this will particularly hit the news channels, is the employee stock options (ESOPs) which are being brought under the fringe benefit tax (FBT) net. Listed companies like TV18 Group, NDTV and TV Today Network have been planning to use this as a management tool to retain talent in a media business that has recently seen a high attrition rate.

    Already NDTV‘s net profits have been eroded (for a few quarters) by a rise in personnel costs and ESOPs. TV18‘s policy has been to reserve a chunk of holding for the employees while TV Today has taken permission to offer up tp five per cent as stock options.

    The news channels took a beating today with TV18 dropping 4.47 per cent to Rs 578.70 on the BSE while Global Broadcast News slipped 6.08 per cent to Rs 572.80. NDTV, on the other hand, fell 2.26 per cent to Rs 318.50 but TV Today gained 1.7 per cent to Rs 134.85.

    Unlike IT companies which has built stock options into it, the media sector shouldn‘t be unduly alarmed. “There may be some cause for concern but it wouldn‘t have any major impact. Though it is becoming a trend, the media sector doesn‘t integrally have a big component reserved as stock options,” says an analyst at a broking firm.

    The dividend distribution tax, up from 12.5 per cent to 15 per cent, will also impact the sector. But this could only be a minor shock as media companies are not well known for doling out huge dividends.

    The third, and probably most pinching of the lot, is the commercial property rentals that will now fall under the service tax bracket. If this does not exclude the entertainment sector (we are still awaiting clarity on this), multiplexes may find themselves in a spot of trouble. Most of them have ambitious expansion plans to spread across the country and do not see ownership of property as the only route to setting up screens in different locations.

    The multiplex companies went into a free-fall today as the scrip value dipped in the stock exchanges. Adlabs and Shringar ended four per cent down at Rs 423.65 and Rs 52.65 respectively while Cinemax fell 7.29 per cent to Rs 141.25.

    “If the multiplexes fall under the service tax net, it will have a more lasting impact on their bottomlines,” says an analyst.

    Meanwhile, UTV dropped 8.61 per cent to Rs 258.95 while Balaji Telefilms fell 7.58 per cent to Rs 114.05.

    Zee Group‘s Wire & Wireless India Ltd (WWIL) also shed 6.5 per cent to close the day at Rs 102. While Cas (conditional access system) is slow to take off, the industry is still not clear whether there are incentives provided in the Budget for domestic manufacturing of set-top boxes.

    “Media stocks fell today along with the tumbling of scrips in other sectors like cement and IT. Besides, there was a global meltdown which cast its imfluence in India. It remains to be seen how long the Budget will cast its negative impact on the media stocks, but there is nothing that is deeply damaging,” the analyst adds.

     

  • Television woos Marathi Manus

    SABTNL vice chairman and managing director Markand Adhikari assures us that his long-in-the-pipeline channel ‘Mi Marathi’ will finally be making its appearance in February 2007.

    With just two players in the GEC market – Zee Marathi and ETV Marathi – and one public broadcaster – DD Sahyadri – struggling to keep up with the onslaught of private players, the time is just right for more players to enter the niche Marathi regional market.

    It’s an open field and almost every television network has set sights on it. Like one industry gentleman mentions, “We’ve looked and looked until our eyes have watered.”
    That’s one of the more cautious players checking the scene. But what catches our interest is the launch of two new channels on the anvil. Zee News Limited is about to launch Chouvees Tas (25 January is the date that is doing the rounds), a 24 hour news channel in Marathi while Adhikari brothers Mi Marathi should launch soon too.

    Other players who are evaluating the market include TV18 and Star, although both networks declined to make any specific comment, insisting that the regional market is an unexplored territory, whether in Maharashtra or the other regional segment fast gaining interest – the south.

    BACKGROUND

    This is not the first time that channels have wooed the Marathi Manus. The first wave of Marathi channels saw DD Sahyadri, Zee Marathi, ETV Marathi, Tara Marathi and Prabhat fighting for eyeballs. DD Sahyadri was launched in 1998 and was followed by Zee Marathi in 1999. ETV Marathi, Tara and Prabhat were launched in the period between 2001-02.

    While the Rathikant Basu led Tara Marathi and Prabhat channels have long since shut shop, Zee Marathi and ETV have not only managed to hold on but have since established themselves, pushing DD Sahyadri to the third position.

    DD Sahyadri tried to resurrect itself in 2003 and even raced ahead of the two private players for a brief period. But recent figures suggest another role reversal.

    THE NUMBERS GAME

    Take into account the figures for last the three months (Oct-Dec 2006), in the CS + 4 Yrs by Tam. ETV Marathi is leading the channel share in Maharashtra by a narrow margin ahead of Zee Marathi, while DD Sahyadri is lagging behind with just 11 per cent share.

    In Mumbai, however, Zee Marathi pipped ETV Marathi to the post with a 50 per cent share.

    Two weeks into the new year (with CAS having been implemented in south Mumbai and Tam introducing its new, expanded peoplemeter panel), the data throws up a few surprises. And this time Zee Marathi is seen beating ETV Marathi by a high margin. In fact, it competes with Star Plus in the Hindi GEC and emerges a winner.

    Channels GRP
    ZEE Marathi 351
    Star Plus 319
    ETV Marathi 258

    Channel GRP in GEC
    Market:All India
    TG: CS 15+Yrs
    Source: TAM Peoplemeter

    Zee Marathi business head Nitin Vaidya is elated as he brings out the week two results. “Zee Marathi has surpassed Star Plus in the overall channel market share. Both Mumbai and all Maharastra categories show a significant lead for Zee Marathi,” says Vaidya. The data he details is clearly reflective of the channel’s hold over its Marathi speaking audiences; whether during prime time viewing or the afternoon band with a predominance of women oriented programming.

    “I’m not bothered about the Kyunki’s and Kahaani’s of the world. My competition is not restricted to the Marathi market. I want to compete at equal par with all other entertainment channels. For instance; Sa Re Ga Ma Pa hosted by Pallavi Joshi on Zee Marathi is as popular as the one on our Hindi network,” reiterates Vaidya. In fact, the channel is so confident about its show that the time slot of 10 pm coincides with Star Plus’ popular K-sagas. Despite this, the channel claims to have wide viewership amongst its Marathi viewers. While one of the reasons for Star’s slump could be attributed to Tam having increased its peoplemeter sample size to more cities and updating the number of C&S homes, the interest in Marathi market by established networks is an indicator of its mass appeal.

    The numbers also show that Marathi channels, once considered a slow moving market, are undergoing a paradigm shift. The competition is no longer restricted within the niche Marathi channel market but has spilt over to all GECs. According to industry sources, the Marathi market growth rate in 2003 was a modest 8 per cent. Compare that to the 13 to 14 per cent growth rate touted today and we get an idea of why other channels are waiting to jump into the fray.

    The general bonhomie over the Marathi market growth is also shared by other industry watchers. Vaidya estimates that the size of the Marathi regional market is Rs1 billion and will be about Rs1.2 billion by year end.

    CONTENT IS KING

    Zee Marathi has clearly ridden the success wave on the back of its programming. Zee Marathi spruced up its programming act last year with the introduction of many new shows. Currently, 11 of the top 15 shows on Marathi regional channels is by Zee Marathi. Zee Telefilms head network sales Joy Chakraborthy believes that the Zee Marathi success was due to its shift from a ‘cost centric’ to a ‘content and marketing centric’ strategy.

    Doordarshan director Satish Sonkar, who has recently replaced an unceremoniously transferred Mukesh Sharma, is confident about DD Sahyadri. “Our terrestrial reach cannot be duplicated by the private channels. Hence the CAS situation does not bother us too much.”

    DD Sahyadri:Losing the numbers game?
    Source:www.ddindia.com

    Sonkar is also gearing up to revive the sagging fortunes of Doordarshan. “Plans are on to launch a new breakfast show in the time slot between 7 to 8 in the morning moulded on the popular Subah Savere format. The emphasis throughout our programming content will be on infotainment.” The channel also wants to experiment with ‘parallel programming’; although current infrastructure does not permit it do so. Sonkar is also eager to do away with repeats on the channel and replace them with documentaries or feature shows “showcasing cultural aspects of Marathi culture like the history of Lavani”.

    Award events like Zee Gaurav Puraskar on Zee Marathi to be held on 3 February will see over 10,000 people in attendace. Sahyadri’s Hirkani Puraskar also claims a loyal viewership every year.

    Adhikari’s ‘Mi Marathi’ is likely to give the general entertainment channels a run for its collective money with its ‘bank of 3,000 programmes’. “With a tagline of Aaplya Maansanchi Aapli Vahini (our channel for our own people) and the experience of producing the most popular shows on Doordarshan we will certainly do well,” maintains Adhikari.

    AD REVENUE

    On a rough estimate, Zee Marathi takes in ad revenues to the tune of Rs 400 million to Rs 450 million while ETV Marathi would be in a similar range. DD Sahyadri claims to have already raked in Rs 300 million, the target set for 2006-2007.

    Sahyadri also switched from a sponsored to commissioned model starting Oct ’06 to eliminate the middle man. While this is on an experimental basis right now across its regional kendras, the Sahyadri channel has started this on 3-4 of its programmes and aims to extend it to all its programming by the end of this fiscal. The channel is confident that this policy called SFS (self financing scheme) will bring in the much needed ad revenue.

    But Marathi channels will have to woo the advertisers more intently. Most of the biggies in terms of advertising in Marathi channels are the FMCG companies like HLL, Reckitt, J&J, Marico, Wipro and they continue to dominate the top advertisers list over the last three years. Most of the new entrants are also from the same category with players like ITC & L’Oreal.

    GOOD ‘NEWS’

    The general news market will see the addition of a new player as Zee News’ Chouvees Tas. Zee News Limited CEO Harish Doraiswamy says, ‘Unless someone else pips us to the post, we are all set to become the first 24-hour Marathi news channel. There is certainly an equity in the Marathi news market since what is now available to a Marathi viewer is only hour on hour news at Zee Marathi, ETV Marathi and DD Sahyadri.’ The channel, which will be launched in a phased manner, is slated to cover all Maharashtra and will enter the market as a free-to-air channel.

    Does the rural- urban divide amongst Marathi viewers still exist and will this be a critical factor for Marathi channels? Doraiswamy says, “The content on the news channel will have to be tweaked to suit different categories of Marathi viewership. But by and large, the aspirations of the Marathi people are similar across geographical boundaries. In India, we may call a Latur or Sangli a small city, but judging by the population size these would be large cities had they been in the States. Going by the argument, we don’t see a disparity in our viewership. We will have agri-based programming or news specific to the community. The genres of programming will however be consistent throughout.”

    ETV Marathi focus on news
    Source:www.etv.com

    ETV Marathi first saw the potential of well packaged news and has three news bulletins – ETV Marathi news, Maharashtra Maaza and Aapli Mumbai. The channel also has an issue based talk show Vrutt Vaidh. Sahyadri also has a news bulletin in the evening called Batmya. Zee Marathi’s Zee News Marathi is now airing at regular intervals during the day along with hour-on-hour headlines, which will also be withdrawn in the run up to its 24 hour news channel.

    Clearly, the latest battle lines amongst these channels will be drawn around news since most of these channels agree that they can never match the programming budgets of some of the bigger channels. Roping in the Marathi viewer through events, awards shows, interactive game shows can be seen across the channels already.

    GRAPPLING WITH CAS

    Starcom India’s Girish Upadhyay brings in the media planner’s perspective when he says, “If we just see the one week data we have post CAS implementation one sees regional channel shares increasing by 20-25 per cent whereas some of the big mass channels have reduced in terms of share, but still these are early days.”

    He further states, “The general understanding is that niche & local regional channels do well in a CAS environment, since in such an environment people take channels which they are passionate about. But there won’t be space for too many channels to survive because a consumer ultimately has to shed money for every extra channel he takes.

    “This could give rise to two scenarios: The first entrant in the market would have an upper hand, since viewers have a habit of sticking to whatever they start watching first.

    “Consumers will also be tempted to buy a bouquet which has a mix of everything-news, movies, mass, regional. So these smaller news channels will do well if they become part of a good well-rounded bouquet of channels.”

    WAY AHEAD

    What is clear is that the ad revenue pie of the news market, with the entry of these players, is not going to increase much; in fact it will fragment the market further. Also, the big players are entering into news not because of revenue but more because they want to create an impact. Under the Cas regime, the network that offers the most variety in its bouquet is likely to win. That is precisely why one sees some of the news channels nowadays getting into the entertainment channel space which could be an added source of revenue.

    So is there room for more regional news channels? The language preference by the masses could just tip the scale in its favour. It is similar to newspaper readership across markets where vernacular is preferred over English/Hindi publications. The fact remains that in Mumbai, many of the Marathi households buy two newspapers – an English daily and a Marathi newspaper.

    Upadhyay does a comparative on the Bengali news market, which has Star and Zee amongst its players. “If we had to take the West Bengal a figure in terms of news, Star Ananda is currently ruling with a share in the range of 3 per cent while Zee’s Choubees Ghanta is in the range of 1.5 per cent, followed by the other all India players.”

    Although it would be tough to judge the Marathi market on the same basis, regional channels do have an upper edge purely due to language and cultural preferences.

    This could very well mark the second wave of Marathi regional channels and news will be the genre to watch out for.

  • Kappa TV asks viewers to shoot an idea

    Kappa TV asks viewers to shoot an idea

    MUMBAI: First, it dared to go off the beaten track with a programming mix in four languages including Tamil, Malayalam, Hindi and English. And now, Kerala Mathrubhumi Group’s youth-centric music channel – Kappa TV – will telecast a new contest show for a month starting end-November.  

    The contest is about being creative with your mobile gadgets and though a date and time hasn’t been fixed yet, it will be a half an hour show with 24 minutes of content and 6 minutes of advertising during prime time from Monday to Friday with repeats over the weekend.

    Participants will be required to click/record a short film or photo gallery/music album and submit online to the channel, with entries of not more than 3 minutes’ duration. The second level will see 30 people selected from each category, whittled down to 10 each. Three winners will be chosen from each category in the third and final level, with prizes worth Rs 3.5 lakh distributed among the nine winners, who will be featured on Kappa TV. Of the three levels, the first has no particular theme while the second and third rounds will be more specific.

    “We want to see to what extent people can extend their imagination,” says Mathrubhumi TV CEO Mohan Nair, who is helming the eight-strong in-house team producing the show.

    What about the authenticity of the clips being received? Nair says they won’t know in the first round but for the next two rounds, a separate team will monitor the participants.

    While the show host and three judges are being finalised, it is certain they will be popular local personalities. Each episode, shot in Malayalam at the Mathrubhumi TV Studio, will feature six people demonstrating not only their creativity but also delving into their work, family and aspirations.

    Promotions are on since 22 October, and will go on till 21 November, involving the Mathrubhumi Group’s strong media line up of news and radio channels, newspapers and website, as also outdoor hoardings and college activities in the form of game shows.

    “The contest is open to all but we are getting the youth involved because they are very much in tune with mobile phones and they are also keen to be involved with channels. Our research revealed that not just students but also parents are watching Kappa TV,” says Nair.

    Not surprisingly, Kappa TV has 22,773 subscribers on YouTube while its Facebook page boasts 31, 632 likes. In keeping with the concept of the show, Kappa has roped in Idea Cellular as on-ground and on-air sponsor.

    Hope this ‘idea’ works for Kappa TV gets in youngsters as well as elders to spin their creative ideas.

  • Eyeing B.A.G-ful of opportunities in media

    In the 1990s when a rookie TV producer called Anurradha Prasad started B.A.G. Films — (some old hands in the company say the strange acronym stands for Bhagwan, Allah, God) — skeptics sneered that it was another flight of fancy of a young girl from a well connected political family of Bihar, a state that can easily be dubbed the Wild East of the Indian political theatre.

    But over a decade later, critics have been more or less silenced. B.A.G. Films is today a listed company and showing decent financial results to investors, if not exactly setting the Arabian Sea on fire. It has a media training institute up and running, is doing several shows on TV channels, including Doordarshan’s terrestrial network, and has two feature films ready for release. Add to all that are its recent forays into FM radio.

     

    B.A.G. Films Ltd MD Anurradha Prasad

    “After the initial public offer in 2003, we were in a phase of consolidation as we realised we needed to move into a different league where more established players were operating. That’s the reason why we didn’t get into new businesses,” B.A.G. Films LTD MD Anurradha Prasad told Indiantelevision.com, sitting in her plush office in the company’s swanky corporate headquarters in Noida’s Film City on the outskirts of Delhi.

     

    There are also talks about B.A.G. turning into a broadcaster with the launch of at least one TV news channel (crime to be specific), if not two. But Prasad hushes away queries on this subject saying such reports are “purely speculative at the moment.” Rather, she counter-punches by asking, “Do people realize that starting a TV channel is not child’s play? And news channels are costly affairs.”

     

    Such assertions notwithstanding, rumours are still doing the rounds that B.A.G. is quietly preparing to launch a TV channel relating to crime news and shows as it has gained some expertise in this field by producing crime shows for Star News.

     

    ‘Red Alert‘ on Star News strengthened the channel‘s crime slot

    Incidentally, two such shows, Sansani and Red Alert, might not still be figuring in the Top 50 list, but do get ratings, which Prasad points out, are “heartening and encouraging.”

     

    After the consolidation, comes the expansion. According to B.A.G. Films vice-president (systems and planning) Amit Jain, middle of 2005 the company decided to make forays into FM radio segment, animation and creating content for mobile phones and other hand-held devises.

     

    Value-added services like content syndication and tailoring content for various delivery platforms for different technologies is going to become a big business, Jain explains.

     

    “At the moment, almost 90 per cent of the revenue is coming from TV programmes. But over the medium to long term, we expect each of the new segments to contribute significantly to the overall kitty,” Jain avers, pinning his hopes on the business activities taken up by B.A.G. in recent months.

     

    However, equity fund managers are still skeptical of the media company, promoted by Prasad and her Member of Parliament husband Rajiv Shukla.

     

    Said an equity analyst who tracks several media company stocks, “In terms of business, B.A.G. is doing well, but the programming strategy is flawed, which leaves the company with little scope to scale up operations. In media, the whole game hinges on the scalability factor.”

     

    ‘Siddhanth‘ on Star One gave Indiantelevision a star in Pavan Malhotra

    Another capital market analyst adds that B.A.G. Films might be doing almost 20 hours of programming per week for various TV channels, but it needs shows to break into the Top 20 and Top 50 list of programmes.

     

    “As a fund manager, I’d say B.A.G. needs to build up a sizeable market capitalization and show better earnings per share, which would come only when the company’s growth is good,” the analyst adds.

     

    For the year ending 31 March 2006, B.A.G.’s net income from sales / operations were up 16.4 per cent to Rs 423.7 million from Rs 364.1 million the previous year. Net profit after tax stood at Rs 30.5 million compared to Rs 33.8 million in the year ago period. The company said that lower net profit after tax was mainly due to significantly higher depreciation charge due to capitalization of new building at Noida. The earnings per share (EPS) was Rs 0.51 for FY’06.

     

    Woh Hue Na Hamare on DD

    Apart from launching two movies, the company’s average programming hours per month during the quarter ended 31 March 2006 were 46 for Q4 as compared to 73 in the corresponding quarter last year. Over 95 per cent of the company’s programmes continue to be commissioned. A new launch during Q4 ended March 2006 was Woh Hue Na Hamare, a half hour twice-a-week soap on DD1.

     

    Though B.A.G.’s Jain might not entirely concur with market and equity analysts, he does admit that the company is looking for both top line and bottomline growth. “Our balance sheet is very important and more important is the fact that it should reflect growth as we have to live up to our investors’ expectations.”

     

    B.A.G. Films Ltd was incorporated in 1993. The company has six separate business units (SBUs) which are TV software, ISOMES- International School of Media and Entertainment Studies, film production, animation, FM Radio and new media & convergence

     

     

    Here is a brief lowdown on each of the segments that B.A.G. operates in.

     

    TV PROGRAMMING

     

     

     

    The biggest revenue earner for the company presently, content generation naturally gets prime attention from the B.A.G management.

     

    ‘Poll Koll‘ strengthened the political satire genre on TV

    Out of the 90 per cent revenue being raked in by B.A.G.-produced shows, a bulk of it comes from the Star Group, followed by Doordarshan (DD) and regional language channel Tara, which is promoted by former director-general of DD and ex-CEO of Star India, Rathikant Basu.

     

    On Star News alone, B.A.G. has a number of shows like Sansani, Red Alert, Poll Khol and a programme on super-natural elements, Kaun Hai. On top of this, the company also does part news gathering for Star News as part of business process outsourcing (BPO).

     

    “Between 10-20 per cent of the revenue coming from Star News is through the news gathering BPO,” Prasad admits. Work from Star News contributed Rs 136 million or 32 per cent of the company’s overall revenue in FY06.

     

    The company has already produced more than 5,000 hours of on-air software and has a rich footage library of more than 50,000 hours. Star Group (Star News, Star Plus, Star One), Sony Entertainment Television, Sahara Network, DD News are some of the channels that B.A.G. is associated with.

     

    The darker side of life: Haqeeqat on Sahara One

    B.A.G. has been associated with popular programmes like Poll Khol, a political satire on Star News, Kumkum- Ek Pyara Sa Bandhan soap on Star Plus, news magazines Rozana and Khabrein Bollywood Ki on DD News and multi-award winning Haqeekat on Sahara One.

     

    “We are presently in talks with Sony Entertainment TV India for some shows, “Prasad said, adding that the company is also looking at exploiting other Indian language channels by producing or dubbing programmes in Tamil, Telugu and Bengali.

     

    According to her, the revenues are not high in regional language television, but they are avenues of expansion and future growth.

     

    MEDIA TRAINING

     

    After settling down in the media education space, ISOMES now targets an expansion

     

    ISOMES or the International School of Media and Entertainment Studies has collaborated with the Missouri School of Journalism, USA, the oldest journalism school of the world.

     

    ISOMES offers post-graduate diploma in broadcast journalism, TV production and direction and media management. The school also has six months diploma courses in acting and television direction & production, besides short-term courses like radio jockey, air time sales and TV editing.

     

    According to Prasad, the media training institute is now ready for expansion.

     

    FILM PRODUCTION

    B.A.G. is producing two films in 2006. One of the films Zindaggi Rocks stars Sushmita Sen and Shiney Ahuja. The film is scripted and directed by Tanuja Chandra and Anu Malik has composed the music.

     

    Sushmita Sen rocks in ‘Zindaggi Rocks‘

    The second film in Punjabi language called Mannat starring youngsters like Jimmy Sheirgill and TV star-turned –film actress Kulraj Randhawa. The film is directed by Gurbir S Grewal.

     

    Made on modest budgets, the B.A.G.-produced films can be called small budget films if compared to the latest box-office hit Krrish (Rs 600 million) or some earlier films in recent times in Bollywood.

     

    “We need to be watchful on the financial side as we are a stand alone company making forays into film making unlike established players who have corporatised a lot in recent times,” Jain says.

     

    While Zindaggi Rocks cost Rs 60 million, Mannat’s budget was Rs. 17.5 million. But an aggressive marketing strategy like selling various rights judiciously makes B.A.G. hopeful that part of the cost involved in film making could be recovered before the release of the movies.

     

    According to Prasad, “Almost 90 per cent of investment is recovered through selling rights and small budgets films can do this successfully.”

     

     

    The company has plans to release five films by 2007.

     

     

     

    ANIMATION

     

    B.A.G. Films has entered into a joint venture with Sieundesign Co Ltd, a leading Korean firm that has presence in production, distribution and licensing of animation films and TV series.

     

    This initiative of B.A.G. is to tap the growing animation segment and also strengthen presence in the mobile telephony content business. The JV is proposed to be named Sieun & B.A.G. Animation Pvt. Ltd.

     

    At present, talks are on with some American companies for creating content.

     

     

    FM RADIO

     

    Entering the FM Radio business for B.A.G. Films was a natural stride towards forward integration, Prasad says.

     

    With the government proposing to limit such cross holdings in different segments of broadcasting business via a legislation that is being hotly debated these days, such integration process may have to be reviewed by the company at a later stage.

     

    The company has bagged the FM Radio licences for Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and certain parts of Punjab, Bihar, Jharkhand, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. For this purpose B.A.G. Infotainment Pvt. Ltd has been formed.

     

    While the top management at B.A.G. is very bullish on the radio FM business, market analysts say as radio is a long gestation business activity, a lot of this enthusiasm might evaporate once operations start and a clearer picture emerges on revenues.

     

    “The company has a long way to go in radio business, though an announced move to form a consortium with other smaller radio operators for airtime sales is a good move,” a fund manager with a Mumbai-based company says.

     

    NEW MEDIA

    The world of media, entertainment, telecom, infotech and broadcasting is undergoing a change towards convergence. The benefits of technological advancement, convergence, digital broadcasting, high definition programming, streaming and compression and the challenges of an increasingly competitive market place, demand synergy and optimum utilization of resources to develop multi-purpose software for all media windows, B.A.G claims.

     

    With an eye on tomorrow, new media initiative includes video streaming, animation and gaming, interactive content for broadband and mobi-sodes specially developed for mobile phones and handheld devices.

     

    The company already provides voice content including news, cricket and sports, jokes, astro forecasts, celebrity interviews, Bollywood reviews and music album reviews in four languages, Hindi, English, Tamil and Malayalam.

     

    “Value added services are becoming popular in India and content would be the greatest pusher for such initiatives,” explains Prasad on why the company is flirting with activities for which there are specialized outfits already operating.

     

    “Presently, the revenue is not big as telecom companies take away the maximum share (80 pr cent), but over a period of time we see the content provider’s share too increasing significantly,” Jain adds.

     

     

    CONVERGENCE

     

    A group of professionals are working closely to explore opportunities, which are coming through 3G.

     

     

    (Rs 47 = 1US$)