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Tag: Suvarna News

  • #Throwback2020: The year of noise in the news industry

    #Throwback2020: The year of noise in the news industry

    NEW DELHI: It would be no exaggeration to describe 2020 as a nightmarish sequence straight out of an apocalyptic film – with a global pandemic throwing the world in turmoil, disturbing footage of numerous coffins being lowered into the ground, a number of beloved celebrities breathing their last, and a sense of uncertainty looming over everyone’s head. Industries across sectors battled production-stoppages, demand changes, cash crunch, and had to make many tough choices for sustenance. It was no different for the Indian news industry. While the year also turned out to be a hot bed of controversies, the businesses also won big on certain levels. It went through its own set of good, bad and ugly moments through the year. 

    Innovations, launches & rebrandings

    Despite the prevailing state of affairs, 2020 was marked by new beginnings. Several prime media outlets including ABP News Network, Zee Hindustan, Suvarna News, News18 Rajasthan, India Ahead, and Hindustan Times got rebranded. Apart from that, Republic launched its Hindi and Bengali websites, and TV9 and AajTak entered the Bangla digital news market. TV9 also forayed into the business content vertical this year.

    In terms of innovation, apart from stellar programming line-ups and marketing for Delhi, Bihar, and the US elections, special programmes for Covid2019 coverage, some media houses experimented in their offerings too. While Republic Bharat and Republic TV started streaming on e-commerce platform Flipkart, TOI launched a unique print-linked digital game called Times Housie Plus. 

    The frontline battle with the pandemic

    While most of the world went into a work-from-home mode, hundreds of journalists joined the frontline forces battling the pandemic, keeping the 24×7 news cycles running for channels, digital outlets, and the print medium. From doing pathbreaking on-ground coverage from red-zone areas, walking alongside migrant labourers for miles, and brave journalism on cases like Hathras and the farmer’s protests, to holistic reporting on Bihar and the US elections, the Indian news industry tried its best to keep citizens well-informed. In fact, to a large extent the news media played a huge role in helping control the spread of the novel coronavirus by running campaigns advising citizens to stay home, and updating viewers about the latest news on the killer disease’s spread as well as measures being taken to bring it under control. News viewership on TV recorded a staggering 298 per cent growth during the initial 21-day lockdown, as per BARC data, as citizens struggled to stay informed in a world that seemed to be going insane. 

    While media outlets were burning the midnight oil with full gusto, the pandemic hit them hard on the ad revenue and subscription front, which in turn led to a number of job losses, pay cuts, and shutdowns.

    Outlook Magazine was one of the first to go under a temporary shutdown earlier this year, followed by The Bloomberg Quint shutting down its TV division, Sakal Media Group pulling the plug on Sakal Times and Gomantak Times, India Today network shuttering Delhi AajTak, and Times Group bidding adieu to Pune Mirror and relaunching Mumbai Mirror as a weekly. Several editions and bureaus of leading national newspaper shut down, and journalists once used to fat salaries and comfortable jobs were suddenly evicted from their desks and on to the streets. The cost cutting ran across hundreds of media organisations which suddenly saw advertisers vanishing into the distant horizon and showing very little signs of returning for most of the year. Thousands across media lost their jobs while some in NDTV, Quint, Times Group, India Today, Network18, etc bore the brunt of salary cuts for the major part of the year. 

    Controversies galore

    News media became a breeding ground for controversies in 2020 with many CEOs getting embroiled in police cases. Sanket Media director PVS Sarma got arrested by the enforcement directorate in a PMLA case. Republic TV and its ringmaster Arnab Goswami found themselves in a soup for their coverage on sensational topics like Palghar lynching, Bandra migrant crisis, Sushant Singh Rajput’s demise and then got accused of rigging the ratings. Goswami was also arrested in an alleged, dismissed abetment to suicide case from 2018, which he maintains is a case of vendetta against him by the Mumbai police chief commissioner ParamBir Singh for his critical reporting against the way Rajput’s case was being handled.  The  Mumbai police also booked the channel’s senior management and editorial staff for airing the news about a “revolt” against commissioner Param Bir Singh by the police force. 

    An ABP Majha reporter got ensnared in the Bandra migrant crisis controversy when his name appeared in an FIR, citing that his false reportage played a role in gathering the crowd there. However, he was later released by the Supreme Court, which ruled that no direct connection could be established between his reporting and the people collecting at Bandra railway station.

    Additionally, four prominent associations from Bollywood along with 34 leading producers filed a lawsuit against Republic TV and Times Now for irresponsible reporting in the Rajput case and vilifying the film industry. The channels were directed by the Delhi high court to refrain from posting any derogatory content. They were reprimanded by the court thus: “Media can't run a parallel trial. You're a broadcaster… show news. There is less news and more opinion… things are being pre-judged.”

     

     

    Zee News editor-in-chief Sudhir Chaudhary was named in an FIR registered by Kerala police for presenting “a programme that is offending the Muslim religion.”

    “The highlight of the show on 11 March was the ‘jihad chart.’ In his show, he explained to his viewers what the chart detailed: ‘types of jihad,’” the report stated.

     

     

    Another news channel that faced severe flak and action from the courts was Sudarshan News and its show Bindas Bol that somehow managed to find ‘jihad’ in the UPSC. 

    The TRP turmoil

    While all the channels worked hard to gain audiences, allegations of TRP manipulationerupted when the Mumbai police commissioner held a press conference stating that channels were paying viewers to say they were watching them.  Amongst those who were accused were the promoters of Fakt Marathi, Box Cinema and Republic TV. The latter had been running a campaign against the Mumbai police commissioner and the Maharashtra government led by Uddhav Thackeray about the Rajput investigation. The channel stated that the empire was fighting back, that ed-in-chief Arnab Goswami had nothing to do with any TRP shenanigans. But the police force picked him forcibly from his home and kept him in custody for seven days. And they kept on arresting more and more Republic TV executives; the harder Arnab cried and yelled unfair on TV, the harder they came down upon him and his team. At the time of writing, 12 arrests had been made, withthe latest being that of  Republic TV CEO Vikas Khanchandani.

    In response to the scandal, the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) decided to suspend the measurement of television viewership ratings of all news channels for 12 weeks.

    “Besides augmenting current protocols and benchmarking them with global standards, BARC is actively exploring several options to discourage unlawful inducement of its panel home viewers and further strengthening its code of conduct to address viewership malpractice," BARC CEO Sunil Lulla had said in a statement.

    Integrity questioned

    Probably the worst thing that could have happened to the industry this year was the scathing attacks it faced on its integrity as slew of fake news and “polarised opinions” battered the screens throughout the year. Several advertisers, like Parle and Bajaj, also said they would be forced to pull out monies from “toxic” news channels.

    It was in February this year when several leading news channels covering the Jamia violence had falsely claimed that the wallet held in a student’s hands was a stone. Additionally, the students who were sitting in the library covering their faces to protect themselves from tear-gas shelling were called “rioters.” 

     

     

    The same month, Wall Street Journal found itself mired in controversy as a police complaint was registered against it for spreading ‘fake news’ on the death of IB officer Ankit Sharma. The publication was said to be “defaming a particular religion” as they ran an interview of Sharma’s brother, who later said that he never made such a statement.

     

     

    Then there was the scrum of fake news and disinformation surrounding the pandemic. It started with running scores of unverified or false reports on the role of Tablighi Jamaat in spreading the virus. A number of officials and city police sources had to clarify many myths, chiefly being peddled by several media outlets.

    The Saharanpur police debunked the narrative of publications like Amar Ujala and Rajasthan Patrika that quarantined Tablighis in the city defecated in the open at the facility after being denied non-vegetarian food. 

     

     

    The Arunachal Pradesh police called out Zee News for spreading false information about Coronavirus cases. The channel had claimed that 11 Tablighi members tested positive in the state, when in fact there was just one reported case of the virus infection there.

     

    Noida police, too, cracked the whip on ANI News for misquoting and misreporting a quarantine exercise.

     

    These are just a handful of the many instances of false reporting against the Jamaat,as well as the false narratives spun by news organisations amid the pandemic. From ABP News inventing a non-existing ICMR report stating how the lockdown lowered the Covid infections below expectations, to News18 misreporting SAARC nations and other countries joining PM Modi’sinitiative of lighting candles as a show of support for frontline warriors, to News 24 sharing old clips of namaz at Jama Masjid to claim that mass gatherings were happening during the lockdown, to the travesty that Bandra railway station became during the migrant crisis, the news industry blaredunwarranted noise this year. 

    Most recently, several news channels including AajTak, ABP News, Times Now and Republic Bharat, engaged in high-pitch rhetoric for hours on the evening of 19 November, over a purported airstrike by Indian forces in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Eventually, PIB had to clear the air around this fake news in a tweet. 

     

     

    Another black chapter that Indian media outlets wrote for themselves was when they started on their own will, a highly dramatised and unseemly media trial in the alleged Sushant Singh Rajput suicide case, which begged the question if there was any integrity or sensitivity left in the news industry. 

    From splashing on screens the disturbing images of the actor’s dead body,shoving microphones into his grieving father’s face, to running a bogus post mortem on live television, news channels hit new lows in their quest for higher TRPs. Given this sorry state of affairs, the Press Council of India had to advise media outlets to adhere to the norms of journalistic conduct in their reportage. 

     

     

    News outlets went hammer and tongs after Rajput’s paramour Rhea Chakraborty for her alleged, and till now unproven connection to Sushant Singh Rajput’s death. From sensational headlines to character shaming, Indian news channels stooped as low as they could to grab every bit of misinformation, they could show the world. Personal privacy went for a toss as they accessed and “investigated” primetime actors’ leaked text messages. Also, Times Now anchors were seen struggling with millennial lingo as they thought “Imma Bounce” meant a check getting bounced. 

     

     

    So, this was all the noise that newsrooms generatedin 2020. While the industry was lauded for its efforts to deal with the pandemic and keep the news cycle grinding on, it was also questioned for its reportage. No doubt, the TRP scandal has left an indelible blot on its image. However, some channels have told Indiantelevision.com that they are taking this year as a lesson and using the time of TRP suspension to work on their content. Whether or not this year leads to a serious course correction, only time will tell. 

  • ZEE5 goes big on south; brings Asianet News and Suvarna News on its platform

    ZEE5 goes big on south; brings Asianet News and Suvarna News on its platform

    MUMBAI: ZEE5, India's fastest growing ConTech brand,has partnered with Asianet News Network (Asianet and Suvarna News) to offer live news streaming in Malayalam andKannada. This is the first time since its launch in February 2018, that ZEE5 will offer live streaming of news in Malayalamand Kannada languages to its subscribers. This collaboration will offer ZEE5subscribers a holistic viewing experience, including news and entertainment on the go.

    Asianet News Network is one of the leading news networks in South India, and Asianet News and Suvarna News are among the most popular in the states of Kerala and Karnataka respectively.The collaboration additionallyoffers five content pieces every dayand catch-up content for both languages i.e. Malayalam and Kannada respectively.

    Aparna Acharekar, Programming Head,ZEE5 India said,“While we have some of the biggest names in national news broadcast on our platform, we are now thrilled to welcome Asianet News and Suvarna News into our portfolio. Consumers will now be able to catch up on their day’s dose of entertainment and news at a single click – web series, movies, music, news in their favourite language. Through this association, we have further showcased our commitment to fortify ZEE5’s position as one of the preferredregional OTTplatforms in the country today.”

    Abhinav Khare, CEO, Asianet News Groupsaid“Digital is one of the fastest evolving platforms in the news industry today. The alliance plays to bothpartner's individual strength in which the viewer emerges the winner. With growing number of people who prefer one touch solutions to avail information on trends and developmentsit will give both of usan opportunity to widen our reach among the audience. ZEE5 is, today, one of the top regional content producers in the OTT space, and hence collaborating with them seemed a natural next step. We hope this partnership will allow our viewers across the country to access news on our channels, no matter where they are.”

    Since its launch,ZEE5 has been focused on bringing a wide range of content to its regional viewers including catch-up TV, Original Content, digital premieres of blockbuster movies and so on. ZEE5 has rolled out around 25 original shows across genres, and the platform is committed to launching 72+ shows by March 2020.  It has crossed 70 million+ gross downloads since launch on the Play Store and had 76.4 million global monthly active users globally as of June 2019.
     

  • Asianet news continues to top charts

    MUMBAI: Asianet News, a leading news channel in Kerala, continues to be the best in the state, securing the first position in popularity ratings with a total viewership of 43 per cent.

    With 233 GRP points, the channel has topped the charts consecutively for the past 31 weeks of the year. This validates the reign of Asianet news as the market leader in the state.

    The channel’s forerunner programme, News Hour, telecast on all days of the week, broke all the records throughout the week by capturing 51 per cent of the viewership by any news channel. This is the same in the case of the prime time bulletins with 9@9, airing the major nine news of the day, obtaining 47 per cent and the news bulletin at 10pm bagging 52 per cent of the total viewership.

    The channel has always given equal importance to its current affairs programmes, making it favourite among the viewers. The four new programmes, namely, Maravil Thirivil, Malabar Manual, Vazhivilakku and Padhathi Swapnangal telecast on Monday to Thursday respectively, show the channel’s multifaceted outlook. The programmes Malabar Manual and Maravil Thirivil are making waves from the initial weeks of telecast.

    Asianet news continued to top the charts in all the segments, including the Male AB 22+ category, focusing the Urban+Rural market in Kerala even on the 31st week. The channel had earlier scaled heights by becoming the first news channel to beat the general entertainment channels (GEC) in popularity ratings by securing 309 GRP points on the 28th week of the year.

    The feat attained by Asianet news makes it clear the viewership loyalty of Keralites towards the channel.

    Asianet News is the flag ship property of Asianet News Network. Asianet News Network boasts of other marquee brands – Suvarna News, Kannada Prabha and the recently launched, Republic TV – each a distinct leader in its micro markets.

    Asianet News’s digital property www.asianetnews.tv is the fastest growing vernacular Digital content platform from South India with strong content in Malayalam, Kannada, Telugu, Tamil and English.

  • Kannada infotainment channel Saral Jeevan to launch on 19 February

    Kannada infotainment channel Saral Jeevan to launch on 19 February

    BENGALURU: A first glance at the channel’s brief, and one could be excused if he or she thought that it was another ‘bhakti’ or religious channel. The intro reads – Saral Jeevan telecasts non-fiction programming with a focus on mythology, Ayurveda, yoga, vaastu as a science and insights from Indian heritage and culture. But that is not the case, at least not so far.

    CG Parivar Global Vision (CGPGV) will be launching a Kannada infotainment channel on 19 February.

    CGPGV founder and vaastu specialist Dr Chandrasekhar Guruji is a familiar face to most viewers of Kannada news channels – this includes Suvarna News on which he has been on air once a week since the past five years or so, Public TV, Samay and BTV. Guruji says that he will continue with his shows on other channels, while having a one-hour daily show on his own channel. He also has plans to start a similar Hindi channel over the next one year, and expand to eleven languages over time. The channel’s content will be graphics, animation and special effects heavy.

    Company speak

    “Our channel philosophy is to present inspiring, motivational and historic content, which is positive in nature. Our positioning ‘Betterment of mankind’ is a true summary of our channel objectives. Our commitment to influence positive vibes among the masses is the single biggest reason for the launch of Saral Jeevan,” says Guruji.

    “With unique and first of its kind blend of tradition and modernity in the content, the channel will surely be the dynamic face of mythology and infotainment genre among Kannada viewers. Known as world’s oldest civilisation and cultural capital of the world, India has ample legacy that deserve to be presented to today’s generation in an interesting way. Of course, we had to deploy chunk of our energies in to research and graphics. But it’s totally worth it,” adds Saral Jeevan editor MS Raghavendra.

    Saral Jeevan business head Raghunatha Reddy said, “Getting into infotainment, that is ‘very Indian’ in nature, is a strategic experiment. And we never wanted to be one more player in any given space of television. Today, we are happy with the content design; as Saral Jeevan will be filling in the biggest gap by providing knowledge that is entertaining. And the USP of such programming is that it cuts across all age groups of viewers. What’s more, Saral Jeevan has no straight competition; rather it gains from all genres of channels.”

    How is it different?

    Reddy explained how Jeevan Saral was different from the conventional religious, news or GECs, citing one of the shows Mahapayna as an example. “This is the story of Ram’s journey from Ayodhya to Sri Lanka, via of course Nepal. We retrace the steps that he made then today. So if he visited a temple, we show the temple as it is now. Of course, we can’t go into the past shoot images from there, so we have a strong in-house graphics and special effects team that creates the images of the characters in the Ramayana (and all our other shows) and intertwine them within the story as we retrace Rama’s steps across locations as they are in modern days. This is a daily and we already have three months’ content with us,” he said.

    “At present all our content is produced in-house. We have a number of teams that create the content for us. Our total strength is in excess of 100, and our graphics team is 15 strong. I think we are probably the first channel in India with this concept. We are not a religious channel, we are an infotainment channel,” informs Reddy.

    Marketing

    “We will wait and see how we perform, before we can freeze a rate card. Our marketing teams have approached agencies, clients and local advertisers,” revealed Reddy.

    As far as branding and capturing viewers’ eyeballs is concerned, Reddy said that an advertising campaign across Kannada news and GECs is in the final stages of completion. Around 15 to 20 mobile vans have started moving around Bengaluru to promote the channel. Over the next two days, stickers will be pasted on 500 – 600 auto rickshaws, and about 100 local BMTC will carry Saral Jeevan branding.

    For OOH, the channel has planned over 100 hoardings in 15 major cities of Karnataka, besides almost 3,000 of Guruji’s followers across the state will be putting up self-funded hoardings. “So many of Guruji’s followers have volunteered to put up his hoardings, that we have had no option but to give them general creative guidelines and imagery for hoardings that they want to put up about the channel outside their homes and places of work,” said Reddy.

    Carriage

    “Test signals are on e-Digital and will commence today on ACT and Siti Cable. We are in advanced stages of discussion with other players, including Hathway and Den (Amogh). We should be on their networks by the launch date. It will be two to three months before we launch on the DTH platform,” said Reddy.

    Programming

    Saral Jeevan’s key shows include the following:

    Mahapayana: The epic journey of Rama to be aired Monday – Saturday at 9 pm.

    Manakulada Olathigagi (Betterment of Mankind): Live program with Chandrasekhar Guruji to be aired Monday -Sunday at 8 pm.

    Jnanapada: A compilation of motivating and inspiring folk songs in Kannada to be aired from Monday – Saturday at 7 pm and 10.30 pm.

    History: A biography on historical legends that include kings, warriors and freedom fighters to be aired from Monday – Saturday at 9.30 pm.

    Sadhuparampara: The Himalayan Yogis have many faces in the spiritual sub-continent. Each group has its own characteristics and significance. Sadhuparampara decodes the mystery behind the extreme tribes and will be aired from Monday – Saturday at 10 pm.

    Mannina Maga: Dedicated to farmers the show intends to present information and knowledge for planned and effective agriculture leading to better productivity to be aired from Monday – Saturday at 7.30 pm.

    Ajjihelida Kathe (The grandmother storybook): To be aired from Monday – Saturday at 6.15 pm and on Sunday at 1 pm, this insightful moral story series will feature Zen and Akbar-Birbal stories with fully animated and graphic supported episodes. According to the channel, live caricatures are sure to bring back the magic of great moral stories on TV.

    Punyakshethra: Program series on famous places of spiritual and historical significance and will be aired from Monday – Saturday at 6.30 pm.

    Other important programs include Sakhi and Achara Vichara with the afternoon programs focusing on women, arogya yoga and Jatakaphala.

  • Kannada infotainment channel Saral Jeevan to launch on 19 February

    Kannada infotainment channel Saral Jeevan to launch on 19 February

    BENGALURU: A first glance at the channel’s brief, and one could be excused if he or she thought that it was another ‘bhakti’ or religious channel. The intro reads – Saral Jeevan telecasts non-fiction programming with a focus on mythology, Ayurveda, yoga, vaastu as a science and insights from Indian heritage and culture. But that is not the case, at least not so far.

    CG Parivar Global Vision (CGPGV) will be launching a Kannada infotainment channel on 19 February.

    CGPGV founder and vaastu specialist Dr Chandrasekhar Guruji is a familiar face to most viewers of Kannada news channels – this includes Suvarna News on which he has been on air once a week since the past five years or so, Public TV, Samay and BTV. Guruji says that he will continue with his shows on other channels, while having a one-hour daily show on his own channel. He also has plans to start a similar Hindi channel over the next one year, and expand to eleven languages over time. The channel’s content will be graphics, animation and special effects heavy.

    Company speak

    “Our channel philosophy is to present inspiring, motivational and historic content, which is positive in nature. Our positioning ‘Betterment of mankind’ is a true summary of our channel objectives. Our commitment to influence positive vibes among the masses is the single biggest reason for the launch of Saral Jeevan,” says Guruji.

    “With unique and first of its kind blend of tradition and modernity in the content, the channel will surely be the dynamic face of mythology and infotainment genre among Kannada viewers. Known as world’s oldest civilisation and cultural capital of the world, India has ample legacy that deserve to be presented to today’s generation in an interesting way. Of course, we had to deploy chunk of our energies in to research and graphics. But it’s totally worth it,” adds Saral Jeevan editor MS Raghavendra.

    Saral Jeevan business head Raghunatha Reddy said, “Getting into infotainment, that is ‘very Indian’ in nature, is a strategic experiment. And we never wanted to be one more player in any given space of television. Today, we are happy with the content design; as Saral Jeevan will be filling in the biggest gap by providing knowledge that is entertaining. And the USP of such programming is that it cuts across all age groups of viewers. What’s more, Saral Jeevan has no straight competition; rather it gains from all genres of channels.”

    How is it different?

    Reddy explained how Jeevan Saral was different from the conventional religious, news or GECs, citing one of the shows Mahapayna as an example. “This is the story of Ram’s journey from Ayodhya to Sri Lanka, via of course Nepal. We retrace the steps that he made then today. So if he visited a temple, we show the temple as it is now. Of course, we can’t go into the past shoot images from there, so we have a strong in-house graphics and special effects team that creates the images of the characters in the Ramayana (and all our other shows) and intertwine them within the story as we retrace Rama’s steps across locations as they are in modern days. This is a daily and we already have three months’ content with us,” he said.

    “At present all our content is produced in-house. We have a number of teams that create the content for us. Our total strength is in excess of 100, and our graphics team is 15 strong. I think we are probably the first channel in India with this concept. We are not a religious channel, we are an infotainment channel,” informs Reddy.

    Marketing

    “We will wait and see how we perform, before we can freeze a rate card. Our marketing teams have approached agencies, clients and local advertisers,” revealed Reddy.

    As far as branding and capturing viewers’ eyeballs is concerned, Reddy said that an advertising campaign across Kannada news and GECs is in the final stages of completion. Around 15 to 20 mobile vans have started moving around Bengaluru to promote the channel. Over the next two days, stickers will be pasted on 500 – 600 auto rickshaws, and about 100 local BMTC will carry Saral Jeevan branding.

    For OOH, the channel has planned over 100 hoardings in 15 major cities of Karnataka, besides almost 3,000 of Guruji’s followers across the state will be putting up self-funded hoardings. “So many of Guruji’s followers have volunteered to put up his hoardings, that we have had no option but to give them general creative guidelines and imagery for hoardings that they want to put up about the channel outside their homes and places of work,” said Reddy.

    Carriage

    “Test signals are on e-Digital and will commence today on ACT and Siti Cable. We are in advanced stages of discussion with other players, including Hathway and Den (Amogh). We should be on their networks by the launch date. It will be two to three months before we launch on the DTH platform,” said Reddy.

    Programming

    Saral Jeevan’s key shows include the following:

    Mahapayana: The epic journey of Rama to be aired Monday – Saturday at 9 pm.

    Manakulada Olathigagi (Betterment of Mankind): Live program with Chandrasekhar Guruji to be aired Monday -Sunday at 8 pm.

    Jnanapada: A compilation of motivating and inspiring folk songs in Kannada to be aired from Monday – Saturday at 7 pm and 10.30 pm.

    History: A biography on historical legends that include kings, warriors and freedom fighters to be aired from Monday – Saturday at 9.30 pm.

    Sadhuparampara: The Himalayan Yogis have many faces in the spiritual sub-continent. Each group has its own characteristics and significance. Sadhuparampara decodes the mystery behind the extreme tribes and will be aired from Monday – Saturday at 10 pm.

    Mannina Maga: Dedicated to farmers the show intends to present information and knowledge for planned and effective agriculture leading to better productivity to be aired from Monday – Saturday at 7.30 pm.

    Ajjihelida Kathe (The grandmother storybook): To be aired from Monday – Saturday at 6.15 pm and on Sunday at 1 pm, this insightful moral story series will feature Zen and Akbar-Birbal stories with fully animated and graphic supported episodes. According to the channel, live caricatures are sure to bring back the magic of great moral stories on TV.

    Punyakshethra: Program series on famous places of spiritual and historical significance and will be aired from Monday – Saturday at 6.30 pm.

    Other important programs include Sakhi and Achara Vichara with the afternoon programs focusing on women, arogya yoga and Jatakaphala.

  • Asianet names Anil Surendra as VP – sales of Suvarna News & Kannada Prabha

    Asianet names Anil Surendra as VP – sales of Suvarna News & Kannada Prabha

    MUMBAI: Asianet News Network has appointed Anil Surendra as vice president – ad sales for its two channels namely Suvarna News and Kannada Prabha.

     

    Surendra joins from Aidem Ventures, where he was vice president. In his 16 years’ experience in sales, business development and key accounts management areas, Surendra has worked for Reliance Broadcast, Mahuaa Media, Sahara India, Zee Networks, Fortune Media, Cyber Media & Indian Express Group, at various levels.

     

    “I am really excited to join the ANN Group, which has a strong presence across south. Suvarna News and Kannada Prabha are strong brands with a legacy. I really look forward to leverage its strengths and grow the business across regions,” Surendra said.

     

    He took charge of Suvarna News and Kannada Prabha sales with effect from 19 October, 2015.

  • Suvarna News & Kannada Prabha launch ‘Save Tiger’ campaign with Prakash Raj

    Suvarna News & Kannada Prabha launch ‘Save Tiger’ campaign with Prakash Raj

    BANGALORE: Suvarna News 24×7 and Kannada Prabha have launched a Save Tiger Campaign with actor Prakash Raj as brand ambassador.

     

    The initiative was unveiled with Raj along with Karnataka forest minister Ramanath Rai and state forest department officials recently.

     

    The 45 days long awareness campaign has multiple layers of communication and grassroots level activities, which include television campaign with experts discussions and TVCs along with print and digital campaigns, contests and other engaging BTL activities. A meet and greet will also be organized with Raj at tiger reserve areas to educate people on the importance of saving the tiger. A Tiger photography contest has also been organized with an exhibition at Karnataka Chitrakala Parishat in Bangalore.

     

    “This is first of a kind campaign by a regional news media, apart from the scale and duration; the crux of the campaign is it is designed to reach all kinds of target groups that include students, to housewives to corporates to IT corridors. Extensive TV and print campaign will surely creates an impact in bringing awareness, yet we believe in going an extra mile. Hence our approach, by design, is deep rooted and reaches even the last mile in the forest,” said Asianet News Network CEO C Shyamsundar.

     

    “We thank our sponsors CSS Corp, Karnataka Forest Department and Jungle Lodges & Resorts for supporting the campaign,” he added.

  • Vinay Sheshgiri to head Suvarna News and Kannada Prabha Sales

    Vinay Sheshgiri to head Suvarna News and Kannada Prabha Sales

    BENGALURU: Vinay Sheshgiri, who joined Asianet News Network last month, to head Kannada Prabha sales, will now have an additional responsibility of heading Suvarna News sales nationally.

     

    Confirming the development, ANN executive director & chief executive officer C Shyamsundar says, “Vinay takes over as VP national sales – Suvarna News & Kannada Prabha, with immediate effect. He has been entrusted with the responsibility of accelerating revenues and building synergies between two powerful brands -Kannada Prabha, a Kannada daily and Suvarna News channel.”

     

    During his 17 year experience in sales, business development and key accounts management areas, Sheshgiri has worked for Times Group, Airtel, VRL and Radiant Corporate Network, at various levels from asst. manager to vice president.

     

     

    Part of ANN (Asianet News Network), Suvarna News and  Asianet News are leading news channels in Karnataka and Kerala respectively says ANN, which further claims that Kannada Prabha is amongst the most trusted and widely read newspapers of Karnataka.

     

  • News should be a paid asset

    News should be a paid asset

    BENGALURU: Whether it’s the political battle that’s unraveling in the country, or it’s a terrorist attack, news always interests people. But is news as interesting as a gossip piece about a celebrity? This and a lot of other points were raised at the first day of the FICCI MEBC (Media and Entertainment Business Conclave) that saw a session that discussed the news genre. The discussion brought up several points including viewership data, content that is being broadcast and the current situation of the genre as a whole.

     

    The panellists included BBC World News India COO Preet Dhupar, Udayvani group editor Ravi Hegde, Suvarna News editor Anantha Chinivar, Former CNN IBN journalist Veeraraghav, columnist Aakar Patel, NDTV resident editor Maya Sharma and IIM Bangalore dean Dr S Raghunath. The session was moderated by journalist Prakash Belawadi.

     

    After the entire discussion, the panelists concluded that the genre relies heavily on advertising, thus restricting the kind of content that can be produced. At the same time, viewership data such as TAM (Television Audience Measurement) is needed because advertisers depend on such data to pool their money where they want to. “Producing news is expensive and that is why all channels have panel discussions in their primetime slot. It is cheaper than sending an OB van to some far off place and spend huge amount,” said Sharma.

     

    Another point brought up during the discussion was about “sensationalising news”. The reason why many times news is sensationalised is because entertainment is more prominent than news. So, news journalists need to adapt to the entertainment form of style in order to grab eyeballs. But at the same time just getting viewers will not help because everyone is also looking for credibility of news, including the people watching it and the ones dispersing the news. Channels keep a close watch on other channels to know what they are reporting.

     

    However, Hegde differed as he remarked that “media was not entertainment but a serious job”. Hegde, who comes from a print background, said that it’s a newspaper’s job to clear the confusion that channels have created the previous night for the viewers.

     

    Talking about the revenue generated through advertising, Hegde said that most of the advertisements to newspapers come for the editions in the metros, making it difficult to distribute papers in the rural areas.

     

    To this, Chinivar pointed that in order to beat entertainment news, the need to sensationalise news comes up.

     

    Columnist Patel thinks that the standard of journalism in India is poor because of lack of good training and low salaries.

     

    Veeraghav brought to fore the speculative nature of the Indian viewers that the channels have to continuously face. He remarked how many people question news channels’ nature to delve into the future, but they always want to know the future not what has happened. “If I tell a viewer that elections are going to happen, the first thing he will ask me is can you tell me who is going to win?” he said.

     

    Although many channels have taken a strong stand against the TAM accusing it of fudging data to benefit advertisers, all the panellists agreed that there needs to be some kind of tracking to know the viewership for channels and newspapers because it is ultimately a business.

     

    The fact that news is free is what makes it so volatile. “When you have to pay for your news, it will be taken seriously and that’s when the kind of news you get will also become better,” said Sharma. With digitisation coming in, they hope that some system will come in to place to help them get more revenues. News will become a paid asset in the future. “As long as news is free you cannot live without TAM or IRS,” Veerraghav ended.

  • Asianet makes it mandatory for senior editors to disclose assets

    Asianet makes it mandatory for senior editors to disclose assets

    BENGALURU: At a time when the Indian media’s credibility has taken a beating due to cases of corruption, Rajeev Chandrashekhar’s Asianet News Network (ANN) has set the ball rolling by laying down guidelines that require among other things its senior editorial staff to mandatorily disclose assets.

    The news network said as part of its editorial and newsroom guidelines, it will also disclose the ad sales and revenues during the months leading up to and during elections.

    ANN said it will also disclose all ad sales and revenues accruing from political parties and politicians.

    For the company, which runs a Malayalam news channel Asianet News, Kannada news channel Suvarna News and a daily newspaper Kannada Prabha, the Code of Conduct and Ethics policy are an intrinsic part of the employment contract of every team member.

    ANNPL CEO Suresh Selvaraj said, “Our news brands Suvarna News, Asianet News and Kannada Prabha enjoy high credibility amongst our viewers and readers. Our leadership position in our markets is a direct consequence of the high trust in our news and in our team.

    “These initiatives show that we will continue to do whatever it takes to increase the credibility and reach of our news coverage, investing further in not just infrastructure, technology and talent – but also in ethics and values.”