Tag: Prannoy Roy

  • NDTV presents ‘What’s Your Choice’ with Prannoy Roy

    NDTV presents ‘What’s Your Choice’ with Prannoy Roy

    The character of a nation is often measured by how much each person cares for a fellow citizen.  If you see someone in distress, suffering, being bullied or molested – reaching out, do you step out of your comfort zone and help?

     

    We have heard of many cases in which an accident victim, bleeding, lying on the side of the road, reaches out – but nobody stops.  Or stories of when a woman is being teased or molested even in a crowded area, nobody intervenes to save the girl.

     

    But bad news, like these examples, tend to hit the headlines, while good news, like when an ordinary Indian does make a choice to intervene, goes unreported.  What’s the truth about India?

     

    NDTV’s brand new series ‘What’s Your Choice’ with Prannoy Roy aims to simply to find out: Does India care? And if so, who cares?

     

    And in the final analysis, we will have succeeded if at the end of each show each one of us asks ourselves: Do I care — and do I care enough?

     

    WATCH PRANNOY ROY PRESENT ‘WHAT’S YOUR CHOICE?’ EVERY SATURDAY ON NDTV 24X7 AT 9:30 PM AND SUNDAY AT 12 NOON

  • NDTV files fresh application against Quantum Securities

    NDTV files fresh application against Quantum Securities

    MUMBAI:  Prannoy Roy-promoted media company New Delhi Television (NDTV) has filed a fresh application against a minority shareholder, Quantum Securities Limited (QSL) in the Bombay High Court, after QSL ran a newspaper advertisement accusing NDTV of not disclosing vital facts during a presentation to fund managers, equity brokers and investors by the company.

     

    Quantum owns 0.22 per cent in the group. According to the advertisement published in the Economic Times, QSL said the company, in its presentation, did not reveal certain facts that included the income tax departments’ demand of Rs 492 crore tax dues for the annual year 2009-10.

     

    “Sum of parts of NDTV group assets is not reflected in the market cap of NDTV. This is particularly true for the value of its digital assets.” It further said, the network had made no mention of the notice served to NDTV and its promoters by the department and a pending adjudication with the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT).

     

    The ad further highlighted that the issues relating to the Company Petition for Reduction of Capital filed by NDTV in Delhi High Court was also not mentioned. It quotes from an affidavit filed by the department “there are serious allegations of round-tripping for evasion of taxes in the case of the petitioner company for the annual years 2010-11 and 2011-12, being investigated.”

     

    The income tax department also objected to the decision of NDTV Board relating to NDTV Convergence and stated that the petitioner company (NDTV) has not disclosed material facts while seeking approval of capital reduction. This establishes that the applicant company (NDTV) has not approached with clean hands. This capital reduction has been proposed with malafide intention of defrauding revenue of its legitimate tax dues.

     

    Additionally, the ad said the presentation did not mention that NDTV Convergence had filed a charge to the Registrar of Companies, New Delhi that hypothecated all movable and immovable assets to YES Bank.

     

    In response to QSL’s ad, NDTV clarified to the National Stock Exchange (NSE) that the allegations were baseless as it had made all announcements on the proceedings (in the ITAT and the Delhi High Court) to the exchanges as required by law and also included those in the annual report of the company.

     

    “The allegations and insinuations and statements made by QSL in the said announcement are completely false, vexatious and have no basis in law or in fact. The announcement places selective material before the public at large and makes false and baseless allegations against the Company,” NDTV said in the notice.

     

    “The Company submits  that  the  allegations made  by  the  QSL in  the Announcement are  completely baseless as the  Company has in fact made all necessary  announcements in relation to the proceedings to the stock exchanges as required by law. Further, the necessary disclosures in relation to the same have also been made in the Annual Report of the Company,” the statement added.

     

    The notice by NDTV further highlighted the fact that QSL director Sanjay Dutt and his related companies have been investigated for market manipulation by capital markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India.

     

    Further it said, “At  the  outset  we   state  that   the Announcement is in flagrant violation of the injunction passed  by  the Hon’ble Bombay High  Court  against   inter-alia QSL and  its  directors including one Sanjay Dutt.”

     

    On 27 June 2013, the company sent a legal notice to Quantum Securities, Dutt and directors of the company, through its law firm Amarchand Mangaldas accusing him of making defamatory statements, writing to various regulators and ‘launching a tirade’ against NDTV because he bears a ‘grudge’ against the broadcaster. Dutt was a consultant to NDTV from 2006-08.

     

    The court had granted relief to NDTV by its orders dated 6 and 13 August and 13 and 17 October 2013, in terms of which QSL and its directors were restrained from issuing any defamatory letters, notices, emails, etc.

     

    Click here to read the full statement by NDTV

  • The strange case of NDTV and the taxman

    The strange case of NDTV and the taxman

    MUMBAI: The share price rise, a comment about it always being open to potential partnership, has got the income tax department running to news network NDTV’s doors again. And a war of letters has broken out between the two with the taxman once again reiterating his demand for alleged unpaid taxes from the broadcaster, promoters Prannoy and his wife Radhika Roy, which they have disputed for a long time.

     

    What got the IT department’s attention was the sharp 20 per cent rise in the NDTV share price last month. Speculative reports appeared in the media which hinted that the broadcaster was a takeover target and the stalker was allegedly the Adani group. The company issued a clarification to the Bombay stock exchange stating that it is regularly in discussions with various potential partners to further its business interests. And that it would make the appropriate disclosure when the talks reach a concrete stage or a transaction is happening.

     

    The circle 13 deputy commissioner of income tax (D-CIT) in New Delhi responded to this announcement a few days later by writing to the company,  Prannoy and Radhika Roy, forbidding them from selling or taking a charge against their shareholding in NDTV without taking permission from the assessing IT officer during the pendency of assessment/reassessment of tax demands  proceedings.  He said that section 281 of The Income Tax Act (which prescribes this) is applicable in the broadcaster’s case as it had not met the department’s tax demands against it for the assessment years 2003-2004 (Rs 9.16 crore), 2006-2007 (Rs 4.21 crore), 2007-2008 (Rs 6.80 crore), 2008-2009 (Rs 22.99 crore) and 2009-2010 (Rs 449.24 crore). 

     

    The D-CIT also wrote to Prannoy and Radhika Roy claiming unpaid taxes of Rs 69 lakh (2009-2010) and Rs 22.81 crore (2010-2011) and Rs 68 lakh (2009-2010)and Rs 22.61 crore (2010-2011), respectively.  

     

    NDTV responded to the D-CIT’s order through a notice to the Bombay stock exchange yesterday by stating that section 281 does not have a bearing on NDTV shares held by individual shareholders and could only apply on assets of the company.  The company also stated that the claims by the Tax department prima facie don’t exist or are unsustainable or are stayed by Income Tax Appellate Tribunal. In fact, it has argued in the stock exchange notice that the department owes it Rs 40.84 crore in tax refunds. Hence, there is no case of section 281 being applied in NDTV’s case.

     

    It has “further  prayed that  the records of the department  may kindly be rectified to reflect the correct position of the  amount  of  refunds  due  to  the  company.”

     

    The chartered accountancy firm of RKACA & Associate which is advising both Prannoy and Radhika Roy later informed the tax authorities and the stock exchange that both are aware of the provision of the law referred in D-CIT’s letter and that both will comply with the same in both “letter and spirit.” 

     

    Ever since the media reports about the NDTV takeover broke last month, the company’s shares have been climbing northwards. NDTV got listed on May 2004 at an issue price of Rs 70, and hit an all time high of Rs 511.75 in 2008 and all time low of Rs 24.75 in 2011.  The share closed today at Rs 91.55. It was trading at Rs 66.25 a share on 16 May, the day Narendra Modi was elected prime minister but then recovered to hit Rs 82.95 on 26 May and Rs 89.05 on 6 June 2014.

  • NDTV is no 1 in the UK

    NDTV is no 1 in the UK

    MUMBAI: NDTV, UK’s longest running Indian news channel is the top choice for the Indian elections coverage. Backed by a huge marketing campaign on radio, television and online, NDTV 24×7 is witnessing record audience figures since it joined the audience measuring body, BARB. Data for week ending 27th April shows the channel is the most watched Indian news broadcaster. NDTV has sustained consistent viewership for the last four weeks.

    Today, 16 May NDTV will present non-stop programming from 7am when viewers will be able to watch Prannoy Roy, India’s election Guru on India Decides – The Final Countdown, starting from 7:00am (IST) on NDTV 24×7, presenting the first and most credible look at who India has voted for.

    The Broadcasters’ Audience Research Board (BARB) is the official source of television viewing figures in the UK. It commissions specialist research companies Ipsos MORI, Kantar Media and RSMB to collect data that represent the television viewing behavior of the UK. On a weekly basis, BARB publishes a weekly reach data of the channels who’ve subscribed to BARB. As per BARB official data NDTV 24×7 is no.1 / most viewed Indian news channel in UK. Following is the last 4 week published data.

    NDTV’s 10 most popular programmes are

     

  • News channels building ammo for D-day

    News channels building ammo for D-day

    MUMBAI: As the mother of all elections draws to a close, news channels are working themselves to a frenzy to feed the hungry electorate byte-by-byte updates of the poll results.

      

    Speaking of Times Now, the channel has stretched itself to the limit, promising 250 hours of non-stop election coverage, starting with the poll of polls and culminating in a grand finale.

     

    News Nation, on the other hand, will showcase poll results using innovative graphics between 6am and 3pm on 16 May, followed by expert analyses and later, special shows around formation of the new government.

     

    CNN-IBN and IBN7, with their shows A Billion Votes – Post Poll Survey and Mera Vote Meri Sarkar – Post-Poll Survey, respectively, have promised 100 hours of poll coverage, beginning 12 May and ending 16 May. The last phase will be complete with insights into the world’s largest electoral exercise.

     

    CNN-IBN, IBN7 and IBN-Lokmat editor-in-chief Rajdeep Sardesai said in a statement, “With the results of the biggest elections of our times round the corner, the entire nation is keeping a close eye on the outcome. The IBN Network has been a front runner in election programming. Through our 100 hours of extensive coverage, we look forward to continuing our leadership and delivering on the expectations of our viewers of being the most accurate and most trusted network for elections.”

     

    Sardesai along with his formidable team will lead the network’s election coverage, with help from political experts including Swapan Dasgupta, Ramachandra Guha, Surjit Bhalla, Manini Chatterjee, Sandeep Shastri, Kumar Ketkar, Dipankar Gupta and Paranjoy Guha Thakurta.

     

    For ABP News, counting day will start at the crack of dawn at 6am with live interviews of the key faces of this election and a summary of the trends and results using state-of-the-art election software and graphics that the channel has come to be synonymous with. Helping viewers understand the poll results and their implications will be ABP News’ experienced anchors including Kishore Ajwani, Abhisar Sharma, Sumaira Khan as also Neha Pant from the National News Centre, Noida.

     

    Prannoy Roy will once again step into the role he started off with all those years ago. The ace journalist will anchor NDTV’s show-stopper, India Decides – The Final Countdown. The channel is hoping to ensure the fastest national projection, based on early numbers and Roy’s expertise. Counting day will see Roy and Dorab Sopariwala joined by some of the country’s finest anchors, including Barkha Dutt, Vikram Chandra and Srinivasan Jain among others.

     

    Similarly, prominent faces associated with various news channels will lead the channel coverage for the day. For instance, Ajay Kumar, Ramesh Bhatt and Pinaj Tyagi will be the main anchors on News Nation on 16 May.

     

    As for ET Now, election coverage will commence at 7:00 am. The channel will have a panel of experts comprising Swaminathan Aiyar, Bibek Debroy, Sadanand Dhume and Sanjeev Aga who will decode the election results and give comprehensive analysis of how the economy and markets will shape up post elections. ET Now also has a lineup of industry captains like Godrej Group chairman Adi Godrej, Hero MotoCorp joint MD Sunil Munjal, Ashok Leyland vice chairman R.Seshasayee, HDFC vice chairman & CEO Keki Mistry, CII president Ajay Shriram, and FICCI president Siddharth Birla to represent the industry’s viewpoint on the election results and the likely agenda for the new government.

     

    Realizing the kind of viewership these channels are all set to garner on the counting day, a multitude of brands have latched onto the exercise. For example, IBN network has roped in ebay.in, ACC Cement, Renault, Asian Paints and Principal Mutual Funds while Microsoft is its technology partner. News Nation has got onboard Ghadi Detergent, Pepsi, LG, SBI, Hitachi, Airtel, Spice Mobile, TVS Motors and J.K. Cement while ABP News has tied up with Hero, Luminous, Snapdeal.com and Kent Water Purifiers.

     

    Consequently, news channels have hiked their ad rates for a 10 second spot. According to News Nation CEO Shailesh Kumar, the channel has hiked ad rates 15 times the normal rates for prime time for a 10 second spot. However, media planners and buyers beg to differ.

     

    A prominent media planner on condition of anonymity revealed that many such figures are floating around. Like it is being said that Times Now, which used to charge Rs 3,000 for a 10 second spot, has now hiked ad rates to Rs 7,500 or even Rs 9,000. Or for that matter, Hindi news channel Aaj Tak has doubled its ad rate from the previous Rs 4,500 to Rs 9000 approx.

     

    The media planner went on to say that news channels are in fact still trying to get advertisers on board. And though the ad rate may be the same on paper for any single news channel, new brands may have to pay a steep price as compared to old timers who might even be offered a discount.

     

    Not to be left behind in the online space, immediate trends and results from all counting centres will be relayed to NDTV in Delhi, which will reach viewers with state-of-the-art graphics almost as soon as they are released. ABP News has deployed personnel at various counting centres across the country to digitally deliver real-time data to the servers so that viewers get the results at a fast pace. Separate teams will also work right through the day for delivering results on Twitter, Facebook, Whatsapp, BBM or SMS, wherever a viewer is, on the device of his choice. Times Now has already launched an app called Election HQ app, which is also available on i-tunes to provide information to its viewers on the go. To make the incoming information simpler for the audience to understand, IBN has created the Microsoft Election Analytics Centre. The CNN-IBN – Microsoft Election Analytics Centre uses a range of Microsoft devices and services, and leverages analysis of current and historical data to provide people with intelligent election insights.

     

    With almost all news channels ready to bombard viewers with wide-ranging news and analyses related to the poll results, it remains to be seen which one manages to grab the highest number of eyeballs, along with of course, the new government.

  • NDTV Indian of the Year Awards

    NDTV Indian of the Year Awards

    MUMBAI: The NDTV Indian of the Year Awards are held annually to recognise Indians whose contribution to the country have strengthened the foundation of our society and helped build Brand India.

    NDTV today announced the winners of their seventh edition of ‘Indian of the Year Awards’ at a grand ceremony held at the Taj Palace Hotel in New Delhi.

    The seventh edition of the awards was marked by a set of interesting panel discussions over key issues: Public Service, Elections and Business.
    The panelist for the Public Service session included Aamir Khan, Aruna Roy (social activist) and S. Y. Quraishi, former Chief Election Commissioner of India while the panelist for the Business session saw business czars Rahul Bajaj, Chairman of the Indian conglomerate Bajaj Group and a Member of Parliament, Rajiv Bajaj, Managing Director of Bajaj Auto, Shiv Nadar, Founder and Chairman of HCL and the Shiv Nadar Foundation and RoshniNadar, Executive Director and the CEO of HCL Corporation.

    The third and final session was the award for the Indian of The Year, presented by Prannoy Roy to the Election Commission of India;represented by 7 former Chief Election Commissioners of India. The discussion with SY Quraishi, MS Gill, BB Tandon, JM Lyngdoh, Naveen Chawla, TS Krisha Murthy and N Gopalaswami was moderated by BarkhaDutt.

    Also present at the ceremony were LathaRajnikanth; Soundarya R Ashwin; RanbirKapoor; DeepikaPadukone; Kangana Ranaut among other well known personalities from all walks of life.

    The eminent awardees were:

    1. Award for Public Service – PRS Legislative Research & Association for Democratic Reform

    2. Business Leader of the year – Rajeev Bajaj

    3. Young Philanthropist of the year – RoshniNadar

    4. LIC Unsung Hero – Laxmi

    5. Entertainer of the year – DeepikaPadukone

    6. Actor of the year – KanganaRanaut

    7. Bollywood youth Icon – RanbirKapoor

    8. Technical Innovation in Film – Soundarya R. Ashwin

    9. Sportspersons of the year – P V Sindhu

    10. Lifetime Achievement Award (Entertainment) – Amjad Ali Khan

    11. Lifetime Achievement Award (Arts): SatishGujral

    12. INDIAN OF THE YEAR – The Election Commission represented by 7 former Chief Election Commissioners of India.

    The evening ended with a special memento being presented by the Chairman of LIC, SK Roy to Aamir Khan.

  • Election 2014 through the eyes of NDTV 24X7

    Election 2014 through the eyes of NDTV 24X7

    MUMBAI: It’s being called a watershed election – the most important in three decades – and NDTV, the pioneer of election programming and analysis is pulling out all the stops for alpha-coverage led by Prannoy Roy, whose understanding and reportage of Indian politics and polls remains unchallenged 34 years after he anchored the country’s first televised election.

     

    NDTV has innovated to provide the fastest and most comprehensive programming on results with landmark technology and forecasts that are already being cited around the world. Veteran journalists such as Prannoy Roy, Dorab Sopariwala, Vikram Chandra, Barkha Dutt, Sreenivasan Jain, Nidhi Razdan and Vishnu Som will be seen taking viewers out of the studio to real India giving them a ring side view of all the action.

     

    Programming Details

    · THE FINAL WORD – Prannoy Roy and Dorab Sopariwala, acknowledged as the country’s lead psephology team, have commissioned the largest series of opinion polls and exit polls ever – over 200,000 interviews – aimed at greater accuracy and precision (this reduces the sampling error to only +/- 2%, which is unprecedented for India and comparable with global standards). Moreover, the sampling design involves randomized selection from electoral rolls – which ensures that voters in even the most remote and backward areas are not excluded and are interviewed in-depth.

     

    · Based on this rigorous methodology, “The Final Word” will forecast who’s winning each state and who will form the next Government at the Centre. The number of seats each party wins will be tracked over the weeks – and reasons for the changes, as campaigning progresses, will be analysed for viewers along with clear and detailed explanations for the swing that’s been identified.   

     

    · The Battleground with Prannoy Roy – For India, for over a decade, this has been the gold standard of election programming. Battleground is the original and now much-imitated political analysis show, with the biggest politicians in the country appearing on it to respond to the findings of hard-core on-the-ground reportage and polling data. The series of 6-8 programmes (of one hour each), set the trend of broadcasting not from the studio, but from outdoor locations in the heart of each state i.e. the true Battlegrounds of these elections. This show focuses on the key issues behind the opinion poll and exit poll data and trends. Prannoy Roy interacts with a panel of leading experts who discuss election survey data in the context of the amalgam of the politics and contradictions of each major state. The Battleground is the blue-chip analysis show.  

     

    · The Biggest-Ever Exit Polls: Conducted on a sweeping scale that seamlessly fuses more than two decades of unbeatable experience, world-class graphics and micro & macro analysis, this is the unmissable TV finale of these elections. Prannoy Roy and Dorab Sopariwala will forecast the winners and losers in the next Lok Sabha. Trusted as the most accurate of all, these exit polls will be based on a random sample of names chosen from voter electoral rolls, ensuring far greater accuracy than what other polls can command. NDTV’s exit polls, led by Prannoy Roy, who is acknowledged as the real-time source of credible forecasts, ensure that any differentials are eliminated on account of turnout – since exit polls only question electors that have already voted. Moreover the larger sample sizes associated with NDTV’s exit polls reduce the sampling error to a minimum. The on-air analysis and presentation have, in election after election, drawn top politicians as guests and the widest audiences.  

     

    · INDIA DECIDES – the Final Countdown with Prannoy Roy- (Starts May 16 at 7 am) on counting day, NDTV’s show-stopper will be anchored by Prannoy Roy, whose expertise will ensure NDTV is the first to offer a national forecast based on early numbers. Prannoy Roy’s widely-acknowledged strengths in spotting and decoding trends and explaining their impact on the result, and his projections and his sharp analysis, based on decades of experience, will pivot a show that will also leverage new technology to guarantee the first and most credible look at who India has voted for. During the day, Prannoy Roy will be joined by some of the country’s finest anchors – Barkha Dutt, Vikram Chandra and Sreenivasan Jain, as well as by NDTV’s award-winning network of reporters, who have, through years of election coverage, established their credentials as the absolute A-team of political journalists.

     

    · ‘On The Road 2014’ with Barkha Dutt takes viewers out of the studio to real India…giving them a ring side view of all the action

     

    She travels across the country…reporting from a different city, interviewing a different news maker every day

     

    Its perhaps the only with Exclusive interviews and in depth ground reports every day

     

    But On the Road is more …it’s about the people …it’s about Chai stops

     

    Sip in the local flavour and the mood of the nation with Chai Stops  …

     

    As we talk to people …discussing what matters to them most

     

    Come with us for the best and most extensive coverage of Election 2014

     

    Join us on the Road to 2014 with Barkha Dutt every night only on 24×7

     

    · Stepping aside from petty politics and shrill campaigns Vikram Chandra focuses on real issues.

     

    From the falling rupee and rising unemployment to issues of governance and challenges of communalism, he gets political parties to chart the roadmap which will help turn the India story around

     

    ‘What’s Your Solution’  

     

    From corruption and security to the safety of women, get to know who suggests what and vote for the solution you believe is the best fit.

     

    The Big Fight continues the debate, not just political agendas, but also key factors that play a crucial role ..as India votes in Elections 2014

     

    ‘What’s Your Solution and ‘The Big Fight’ with Vikram Chandra are more than just talk.

     

    · Truth vs Hype: Contenders – Anchored and presented by Sreenivasan Jain, Truth vs Hype travels every week to ground zero to answer the questions that lie at the heart of every big story of our time – from politics, to corruption, to conflict zones and now Elections 2014. Shot and edited as a cutting edge news documentary, each episode is backed by solid research, hard facts and a clear-eyed sifting through evidence. Every week, an insightful profile of the key players and the potential Prime Ministerial candidates in this election, reported from the ground and on the campaign trail.

     

    · Left Right and Centre takes daily political debates to a new level for Lok Sabha 2014, where Nidhi Razdan and a panel of experts look at the real issues of this election and why they matter to people. LRC travels to the big cities to get a sense of what India’s urban voters are thinking, and what the agendas are of the main political players. Join Nidhi on Left, Right and Centre every night at 8pm for the day’s political discourse, simply explained

     

    · The Buck Stops Here Weekend Edition with Vishnu Som focusses extensively on the election campaign. Based on studio discussions and live, on-location reporting, The Buck Stops Here, Weekend Edition, takes the viewer to the heart of major political developments, featuring  exclusive interviews with major players on the election trail, including Naveen Patnaik, the Odisha Chief Minister’s first interview to an English news channel during campaigning; and anchoring live from outside the Aam Admi Party office in Delhi when Arvind Kejriwal dramatically resigned as Delhi Chief Minister after just 49 days.

     

    For years, NDTV has always been the fastest with the results and the first to forecast the final outcome based on early numbers. In 2014, the lead gets far wider and NDTV’s non-stop 18-hour election results show INDIA DECIDES – The Final Countdown will reflect the pace, colour, adrenalin and expanse of this election, with uncompromising commitment to making sure viewers have the results first.

  • NDTV India piggybacks legacy to outdo competition

    NDTV India piggybacks legacy to outdo competition

    MUMBAI: Political parties and their prime ministerial picks aren’t the only protagonists of the unfolding election drama; news channels of all hues have joined the fray.

    However, when it comes to election coverage and analysis, certain channels seem to have an edge simply because they’ve been there, done that, long before the others.

    Undoubtedly, New Delhi Television or NDTV is one such, with veteran journalists – Prannoy Roy and Vinod Dua – having co-anchored the first-ever election programme on Doordarshan back in the eighties.

    Leveraging this legacy even as it enters the heat and grime of the upcoming Lok Sabha polls is NDTV’s Hindi news channel, NDTV India.

    The channel has re-jigged its entire schedule to exclusively focus on the battle for the prime ministerial position. From 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm, viewers will be treated to Badi Khabar with Nidhi Kulpati followed by a new show titled National Highway 2014 at 7:00 pm that will feature ground reports from key constituencies and will be anchored by Manoranjan Bharati.

    Newspoint with Abhigyan Prakash aired at 8:00 pm will become Newspoint: Target 272 till the election results are announced.

    Primetime at 9:00 pm will be the same with Ravish Kumar while Rann-neeti at 10:00 pm will have Sikta Deo tracking the changing political strategies of the key players. The last show, Mission 2014, will be aired 10:30 pm onward and will see Kadambini Sharma’s 360-degree coverage of the day’s top election stories.

    Bhuwan Bhatt

    “We will track personalities in the manner in which the US Presidential elections are covered. Our focus this time is to look at the strategies of individual parties and their key leaders. Our objective will be to track the path available to different political formations on their way to the magic 272 mark. This is also one of the most personality-driven elections in recent history,” explains NDTV India managing editor Aunindyo Chakravarty.

    More than the south, the channel will keep a watch out for the Hindi heartland while being in close contact with the Election Commission for real-time turnout figures across states. “While we will be covering the entire country, our focus will be on Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, which could hold the key to these elections,” says Chakravarty.

    With the channel’s market share having risen by a significant 25 per cent in the last LS elections, NDTV India is betting big on its poll coverage and hopes to do even better. So much so, the channel has integrated its website khabar.com with its overall strategy. A special Hindi election microsite is on the cards and so are several interactive initiatives on social media.

    NDTV India is also in talks to use the services of nearly 200 stringers across the country to complement its existing network of correspondents.

    While correspondents will be posted at headquarters, stringers will handle election coverage at the district level. Of the stringers, some will be exclusive to NDTV India while others will be a shared resource between NDTV India and NDTV 24X7. To up its technology quotient, the channel plans to backpack live broadcasting equipment rather than hiring expensive OB vans.

    Isn’t Chakravarty concerned about advertisers, given that NDTV does not subscribe to TAM ratings? “We don’t need to know ratings. We have a better brand and credibility and we also earn better revenues,” dismisses Chakravarty. Hero MotorCorp is already on board as presenting sponsor while Kent-RO and Prateek group are the powered-by sponsors.

    To promote its new shows, the channel will conduct a campaign across Hindi speaking markets closer to elections, the creative for which will be done in-house. “India has a lot of new voters – nearly 12 crore. It is important to reach out to these people and let them know about our shows,” says NDTV senior VP for sales Bhuwan Bhatt.

  • News channels eye elections

    News channels eye elections

    MUMBAI: Back in the eighties, veteran journalists Dr Prannoy Roy and Vinod Dua took the nation by storm when they co-anchored the first-ever election analyses programs on the then sole television channel, Doordarshan.

     

    Nearly three decades and the cable and satellite TV explosion later, journalists and news television channels of all hues continue to romance the elections with the same (if not greater) fervour.

     

    With ongoing elections in four states in North India and one in the North East, and general elections due in the first half of 2014, there couldn’t have been a better time for news channels to engage in a bit of one-upmanship with respect to news and programs around the polls. Indiantelevison.com takes a look…

     

    India News is airing a campaign called Kissa Kursi Ka showcasing ground events across Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Rajasthan and Delhi. Citizens are part of the live debates on this program.

     

    Urdu news channel, Aalami Samay, features a show called Mukhyamantri ke paanch saal which looks at the five years of Members of Parliament and what they’ve done towards roadways, power supply, safety and security among other causes. Another show titled Aapke numainde..unke wade assesses whether these MPs have succeeded in keeping the promises they made before getting elected to office.

     

    ABP News is well known for its show, Kaun Banega Mukhyamantri while India TV is looking at building a strong team under the supervision of QW Naqvi, who has newly joined the channel as editorial director, to make their coverage of this election a talking point for the general elections coming up next year. “These assembly elections are a build-up to the general elections in 2014; the focus is on capturing viewership now and to be their first choice for news coverage, analyses and insights on elections right till the general elections,” says India TV MD and CEO Ritu Dhawan.
        

    Elections are a bonanza of sorts for news channels, which expect viewership to head north during that time. For instance, India News and Aalami Samay expect their viewership to go up by 15- 20 per cent while ABP is confident of garnering an almost 50-100 per cent increase, largely due to the main shots slated for prime time viewing although election programming is scheduled for the whole day right through the elections.

     

    India News and News X plan live election coverage from 43 locations, including 16 live OB vans and 16 live units. “Elections are like festivals for every news channel,” says India News and News X CEO R K Arora.

    Not only are elections significant in grabbing eyeballs, they are also important for news channels to make their mark. “Elections should not only be seen as an eyeball prospect, but also as an area where media can contribute in the process of nation building,” says Dhawan.

     

    While News Nation CEO Shailesh Kumar says: “This poll will also reflect the mood of the nation and take of the people at a crucial juncture when two big leaders (Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi) are being projected as the future of this country. A very decisive poll, which has the capacity to shape the geo-political contours of the nation.”

     

    Advertisers too are part of this gold (read election) rush. For India TV, advertisers come in the categories including Automobile, Cement, Hosiery, Food processing and FMCG.

     

    Says Dhawan: “The rule ‘Eyeball:Price’ is definitely applicable.”, India News and News X have got on boards brands such as Mircrosoft, Renault, Mahindra, Tata Motors, Idea cellular, Honda Motorcycles, Godrej and Whirlpool on their lists.

     

    With channels eyeing elections as a good ‘squeeze’ in terms of viewers and advertisers, most of them have also planned exit polls at the end of the elections.

     

    Coming to the anchors, be it a Deepak Chaurasia or Rajat Sharma or any of your favourite hosts, they are all busy trying to get the best news bytes from specialists, politicians and the public to grab the most number of eyeballs.

  • NDTV ends ad sales outsourcing deal with Star

    NDTV ends ad sales outsourcing deal with Star

    MUMBAI: New Delhi Television Ltd (NDTV) has decided to end its advertising sales outsourcing arrangement with Star India for the news business, after allowing the Rupert Murdoch company to handle it from 1 April 2011.

    NDTV’s ad sales revenue in 2011-12 remained flat at Rs 2.62 billion in a fiscal that witnessed slowdown in the economy.

    “We have managed ad sales of our lifestyle channel NDTV Good Times, convergence and other smaller businesses successfully. Star has assisted us in transitioning the team. We see it as a positive step,” NDTV executive vice-chairman KVL Narayan Rao told Indiantelevision.com.

    NDTV will take its sales and marketing destiny into its own hands from Star India and the transition process has already begun. The Star sales team that was working on the NDTV channels — NDTV 24X7, NDTV Profit and NDTV India — will be transferred to NDTV.

    The transfer of sales team from Star to NDTV will ensure close integration with a number of fresh initiatives that NDTV is launching. Under NDTV Lifestyle Holdings, NDTV and joint venture partner Astro plan to launch a slew of niche channels in the lifestyle genre. NDTV Good Times is already a profitable channel.

    “Now that the (NDTV sales) team is ready and NDTV wishes to take charge of its own destiny, we amicably agreed to exit.” said Star India CEO Uday Shankar.

    NDTV’s executive co-chairperson Prannoy Roy said, “Working together with Star has been a great experience.”

    NDTV in its 2011-12 annual report said 2011 was a challenging year for the television broadcasting industry with pressure on advertising rates and total television ad market estimated to have grown by around 12 per cent during the year, less than the projected growth of 15 per cent.

    The challenges are going to stay as the ad market continues to be sluggish. “In the short run, NDTV will have to bear the cost of running its own ad sales team. And posting ad revenue growth in a tough market would always be a challenge,” a media analyst said.

    Prior to Star, NDTV’s ad sales duties were handled by Raj Nayak-promoted Aidem Ventures. The broadcaster did not renew the deal with Aidem in March 2011 and instead turned to Star India.

    NDTV had outsourced its ad sales to Aidem Ventures for one year, after Nayak quit as CEO of NDTV Media to float his own company. NDTV had bought back Nayak and his team’s 26 per cent stake in NDTV Media, a company that was handling the ad sales of the broadcasting company.