ITV

Tag: Times now

  • Times Now expose against VVIP culture gains support

    Times Now expose against VVIP culture gains support

    MUMBAI: Almost seven decades since India gained Independence, the roughshod riding ways of the politicians and the VVIPs had pushed aside the rights of the common man and made their everyday life more than difficult. But the ongoing campaign by news channel Times Now against the VVIP Raj has made people come together against such culture.

     

    In keeping with the Times Now ‘Action Begins Here’ campaign launched on 25 February, it has created an impact with people from all walks of life rising in unison to voice against the VVIP culture. The expose on the VVIPs causing inconvenience and hardships to people even during emergencies has seen the campaign gather momentum claims the channel.

     

    The channel first highlighted the special privilege at the railway station in Chandigarh, a special lane for VVIPs where they would zoom past while one was left to battle traffic jams. It resulted in the ‘Only for VVIPs’ lane being now opened for all.

     

    It also brought to light the reserved special wards in a hospital in Bangalore for the VVIPs even as commoners struggled for a bed and even if they got one, they had to contend with rats and mosquitoes. Then, in Hyderabad where a special lane leads the VVIPs straight to the tarmac of the airport even as normal traffic leaves many a passengers stranded for hours!

     

    On 8 March the channel flashed the traffic snarl from outside Mumbai’s National Sports Club of India (NSCI) near Haji Ali to the Bandra-Worli Sea Link only because the Maharashtra Chief Minister’s presence at the club made the cops stop other cars from entering NSCI. This led to unruly scenes as people argued with the cops. Later, the CM apologized for the inconvenience caused and promised immediate action into the matter.

     

    The hashtag #VVIPRacism was trending on social media. There were over 26,000 tweets and 33.4 million impressions on Twitter in less than 48 hours. The issue trended globally at number one slot for more than 30 minutes during the News Hour show on 8 March.

     

    The tweets and Facebook reactions are continuing to flow says the channel. Till 9 March morning these figures jumped to 347.1 million potential impressions. (Time Period: 25 February till 2 March, 10 am).

  • Chrome data: English News channels the only losers

    Chrome data: English News channels the only losers

    MUMBAI: In week 10 of opportunity to see (OTS) collated by Chrome Data Analytics & Media, English News channels in the eight metros was the only genre to witness a loss. It saw a drop of 0.5 per cent. Times Now topped the category with 77.1 OTS.

     

    As for the gainers, Business News channels across the eight metros gained the maximum. With 4.3 per cent growth, the genre saw CNBC Awaaz leading the chart with 81.4 OTS.

     

    On the other hand, English Movie channels across the eight metros gained 3.4 per cent with Movies Now topping the space with 67.8 OTS.

     

    Next in the line were English Entertainment channels across the eight metros, which gained 3.3 per cent. Comedy Central was the chart leader with 56.2 OTS.

     

    Lastly, Kids channels across all India too registered a two per cent gain. Cartoon Network noted maximum with 81.4 OTS

  • News channels’ budget special

    News channels’ budget special

    MUMBAI: Will Arun Jaitley successfully meet the expectations of the common man or are the aspirations too high? Will we get new schools and colleges? Will the number of AIMS increase? What will happen to health security? Will medical treatments become more affordable? Will there be any rationalization of taxation?

    The Ministry of Finance will be under the spotlight in the coming days as the country seeks answers to many such questions.

    Indiantelevision.com takes the opportunity to throw a set of questions to various news channels on their plans and offerings to meet viewer’s aspirations.

    ET Now

    The theme for Budget 2015 for the channel is Budget for Achhe Din. “This being the first full-fledged budget from Modi government, the common man’s and various stakeholders’ expectations for achhe din are really high and this perhaps would be the chance for the government to testify the promises made,” says ET Now managing editor R Sridharan.

    With the budget being a highly anticipated event, news channels are gearing to grab as much attention as possible. ET Now is content with the advertiser response. “The response has been phenomenal and we have brought on-board the maximum (and exclusive) budget sponsors within our category. Besides, we have sold out complete inventory on FCT and non FCT elements during budget week and budget day,” adds channels spokesperson .

    Budget also tests the editorial prowess. “All stakeholders of the budget viz. India Inc., market participants, traders, retail investors and the common man would largely depend on us to bring the fastest news updates, analysis, reactions and verdict on the budget,” he says.

    ET Now is looking at providing the most comprehensive and decisive analysis on budget to its viewers. “Every year our budget verdict is closely watched. This year we have a power packed line-up of pre-budget programming named Budget Marathon all through the budget week, which will consist of budget debates, a daily call-in show on personal finance and special editions of our extremely popular show market makers,” he informs.

    So why should one tune into ET Now? Sridharan says, “The sheer depth and expertise of ET Now’s budget coverage will be unmatched as compared to any other English business news channel. Foremost economist Swaminathan Aiyar and Motilal Oswal joint managing director Raamdeo Agrawal will lead ET Now’s programming on budget day. Aiyar, is the most respected economic expert in India who has been analysing budgets for more than 45 years now. In addition to our seasoned anchors, ace fund manager Punita Kumar Sinha will also be part of our stellar line up of experts. With the combined might of these three, the viewers will gain tremendous insights and knowledge ranging from economy, markets, finance and investments.”

    “Each of our experts is a stalwart in his or her area. Be it institutional investors or retail investors, market participants look to our panel to get the most decisive analysis of budget proposals. We have the most authoritative voices on the channel,” he informs.

    NDTV Network

    NDTV, as part of its budget special, will throw all the key questions to find out if the Narendra Modi led government will be able to live up to the expectations of 1.25 billion Indians.

    The channel, through its budget programming, will find out if the growth stimulus is pro-subsidy or pro-investment?

    NDTV senior vice president corporate affairs and senior editor real estate Manisha Natarajan says that the first full budget will be the Modi government’s first real acid test. “Join NDTV as we balance the numbers and find out how Budget 2015 affects you,” she says.

    The programming of the 24 hours English news channel NDTV 24/7 during budget will be as follows:

    Pre-Budget programmes

    23 and 24 February: Budget ADDA at 5:30 pm. In the build up to the Union Budget, Shweta Rajpal Kohli will be joined by the captains of the industry to outline their wishlist for the first proper budget of the Narendra Modi government.

    26 February: Rail Budget Live (12–1 pm): The rail budget presentation will be followed by analysis with railway industry experts and policy makers.

    27 February: Economic Survey Special (9-10 pm). Senior economists, industry voices and policy makers debate and discuss the Economic Survey 2015.

    28 February: Union Budget 2015. Industry and political voices, policy makers and economists join Prannoy Roy and Shweta Rajpal Kohli from 9 am to 3 pm to look at the Narendra Modi government’s first budget.

    9-11 am: Pre-Budget expectations and analysis

    11 am – 1 pm: Budget Speech Live from Parliament

    1-3 pm: Post Budget analysis

    The scheduling of the network’s business channel NDTV Profit is as follows:

    Betting on the Budget: Presented by Prashant Nair, the viewer will get insights into the expectations of the financial markets from the Union Budget. The show will have top-notch market participants who will discuss and debate what the budget can do for the economy and of course for the financial markets.

    B-School Budget: Moderated by Shweta Rajpal Kohli, in this show young business students talk about their perceptions and understanding of the budget and how they might perhaps do it differently.

    Budget ADDA: In the build up to the Union Budget, captains of industry outline their wishlist for the first proper budget of the Narendra Modi government. The show will be anchored by Shweta Rajpal Kohli.

    Programming on Budget Day 

    Name – Union Budget 2015

    Anchors – Vikram Chandra and Prashant Nair

    Timing – 8 am to 5 pm 

    Pre Analysis – 8 am to 11 am 

    Budget Speech – 11 am to 1 pm 

    Post speech analysis – 1 pm to 5 pm 

    News X

    When queried about its special coverage for budget 2015, NewsX editor in chief Rahul Shivshankar says, “NewsX has a new mission for the new NDA government for their first budget – Mission 10 per cent. This is also our branding for the coverage, which will all dovetail into this special theme- how to attain double digit growth for India.”

    NewsX will be breaking the mould with a new virtual gfx (graphics) technology to present the big numbers in the budget.

    Talking about the motto of News X, Shivshankar says, “We believe that one of our primary functions is to ensure that the voice of the common person reaches the newsmakers. We are doing a series of roundtables with experts and opinion makers which will be suggestive of what the government focus for the budget should be.”

    During the budget, viewers tune in to a channel to follow the editorial content. The channel with better content garners more viewership. “NewsX has a detailed roll out plan for budget programming. From 19-27 February, our programming Your Budget, Your Expectations would highlight the expectations of the common person from the FM and PM. From 21-25 February on our budget show Mission 10 per cent at prime time, we will debate on issues like growth, fiscal deficit, tax, growth and aspirations of the youth with eminent panel of experts. From 27-28 February our prime focus will be on the political and economic implications of the Rail Budget and Union budget including Economic Survey. Overall, our editorial focus will be to be non jargonistic, to simplify the numbers and ensure the coverage is detailed yet tailored to the common person,” he informs.

    The panel of experts is a very important part of any presentation and the NewsX panel of experts will have former advisor to PMO Subhashish Gangopadhyay, Vivian Fernandes, former cabinet secretary TSR Subramanian, economist BB Bhattacharya, founder Air Deccan/Industrialist Captain Gopinath, senior journalist MK Venu, convener economic cell BJP PN Vijay, direct tax expert KPMG Prashant Kapoor and personal tax expert KPMG Ashish Gupta.

    When asked why should people choose NewsX over others Shivshankar replies, “For clarity. It’s as simple as that. We put the viewer before the numbers.”

    Times Now

    Times Network’s 24 hours news channel Times Now has named its special coverage Super Budget in concurrence with the theme that this budget will perhaps be a kick-starter for the next phase of growth.

    “Super Budget 2015 will be a congregation of debate shows, interviews, analysis and discussions with Times Now editor in chief Arnab Goswami and economists like Omkar Goswami, Lord Meghnad Desai, Dr. Rajeev Kumar and Sunil Alagh who will discuss issues regarding the common man’s expectations from the budget 2015,” says a Times Now spokesperson.

    The channel is known for its innovative adaptations, as during every special presentation it comes with a new technical innovation. The budget will be another effort to showcase innovate formats both in terms of technology and editorial styles.

    When questioned about the impact of budget presentation in news channels, the spokesperson asserts, “The budget is a crucial exercise that plays a key role in determining not just the economy but also impacting our lives. Viewers watch news channels for information around the budget, how the subject matter experts are reacting to the budget and how the budget will impact our life. Times Now tries to simplify the budget by analyzing it in simple terms bereft of jargons.”

    The channel will continue its strategy of bringing the budget to its viewers in a simple and understandable form. “We will be analysing how the budget will impact our daily lives and the impact it will have on corporate and the markets. With a range of experts from industry the analysis is aimed to be sharp and fast with path breaking graphics to support the same,” he adds.

    With all the news channels having more or less the same presentation, it is highly challenging to emerge as viewer’s choice. “In all budgets, Times Now has been the choice of viewers. We have managed to garner record shares in each budget. With a team that comprises two of India’s best voices on economics in Dr. Omkar Goswami and Lord Meghnad Desai, the channel promises to deliver sharp analysis. Additionally experts like Dr. Rajiv Kumar, Sunil Alagh and Sanjeev Sanyal will provide industry viewpoints to the budget. All this packaged in an interesting format makes for exciting viewing,” reiterates the spokesperson.

    Ad rate hike

    According to media buyers, the news channels will see a minimum hike of 50 per cent in the ad rate. A media executive says, “Budget is one of the major event for news channels and they prepare special marketing campaigns for it so that brands come and endorse.”

    Another executive from the media planning community adds on condition of anonymity, “The hike in ad rate is directly proportional to content in store. Better content delivered by prominent dignitaries grabs more attention and hence the channel get better price for their ad slots.”

    Though economic reform is a 365 days agenda, the general budget plays a vital role in the economic condition of the country. It remains to be seen if budget 2015 takes India, which was recognised as ‘fragile five’ couple of years back, one step forward towards the fantastic or favourite five in global economy.

    (The channels are listed in alphabetical order and not on the basis of viewership ratings or accolades.)  

  • Chrome Data: English News channels continue to gain in week 8

    Chrome Data: English News channels continue to gain in week 8

    MUMBAI: In week eight of opportunity to see (OTS) collated by Chrome Data Analytics & Media, English News channels in the eight metros gained the maximum.

     

    With 3.4 per cent growth, the genre saw Times Now retaining its supremacy with 79.1 per cent OTS. 

     

    Sports channels across India gained 3.2 per cent. 

     

    Next in the line were Business News channels in the eight metros with 2.2 per cent jump and Music channels in the Hindi speaking market (HSM) with 0.7 per cent. CNBC Awaaz with 80.6 per cent OTS and 9XM with 90.6 per cent OTS topped in their respective genres. 

     

    As for the losers, English Entertainment channels in eight metros saw the maximum drop of 4.9 per cent. Comedy Central with 52.5 per cent OTS topped the category. 

     

    Kids channels across India and Hindi movie channels in HSM markets saw a drop of 0.9 per cent and 0.7 per cent respectively. Cartoon Network with 79.9 per cent OTS and Max with 95.5 per cent OTS scored the maximum in their respective genre. 

     

    Last but not the least, English Movies in the eight metros observed a fall of 0.5 per cent. Movies Now topped the chart with 67.1 per cent OTS.

  • “Couldn’t have asked for better timing”: The Viral Fever’s Arunabh Kumar

    “Couldn’t have asked for better timing”: The Viral Fever’s Arunabh Kumar

    MUMBAI: On 10 February when Aam Admi Party (AAP) founder Arvind Kejriwal created a history of sorts by winning the Delhi assembly elections by a record win of 67 seats, social media was abuzz with another first he had scored as an Indian politician. The muffler man was the first Indian politician to feature on a satire show on a digital network, The Viral Fever (TVF).

     

    How tough was it to convince Kejriwal to come on board for the flagship show Barely Speaking with Arnub? “We were talking to Kejriwal since October last year but he was busy with his campaign. He was well aware of the bitter-sweet thought provoking content we present. While we were unhappy with the delay, we could not have asked for a better timing and release,” The Viral Fever founder and CEO Arunabh Kumar tells Indiantelevision.com.

     

    The show, which was uploaded on 9 February, has garnered 2,251,010 views on YouTube so far.

     

    The digital network also partnered with Times of India (TOI) as part of its The Great Indian campaign. Kumar says when TOI started the second leg of the campaign The Great Indian Litterbug, they were simultaneously in talks with Kejriwal. 

     

    “The campaign was about the common man indulging in littering while the symbol of the AAP party, which is the broom, stood for cleaning up the act. We thought it was a great fit in such a way that people would not know it was branded integration,” adds Kumar.

     

    The host of Barely Speaking is seen imitating India’s most popular news anchor Arnab Goswami of Times Now. When asked if he has been confronted anytime by the real “nation wants to know” anchor, Kumar is of the opinion that imitation is flattery and it is not a major concern as the network has partnered with the Times Group for different associations. “Let’s hope we are able to convince him to come on board for our show and have an ultimate showdown,” he says.

     

    When queried whether India was ready for a subscription based model going by the rise in video on demand (VOD) platforms, Kumar says that their network has a product called the TVF Box Office where people can watch movies they have missed by paying for it.

     

    “Rocket Singh has sold 30,000 tickets in three years on Google Play and Sulemani Keeda, a very tiny film which didn’t even get a decent release sold 10,000 tickets in less than 10 days. This has been able because of the traction the Viral Fever has been able to garner,” the founder explains.

     

    The network has a total strength of 70 people and took a total of 36 hours to shoot the interview with Kejriwal and upload it on the online channel. Previously Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan too has made an appearance on the show. When asked who are the other guests he looks to get on board, Kumar says “I think there are Shah Rukh’s of various different industries that we plan to get on board. But Bollywood always makes up for good content and at the same time the younger upcoming actors are open at laughing at themselves.”

     

    The network also has a small division called the TVF Tube, which is headed by Samir Saxena. This segment looks at producing content for television. Saxena has directed the popular online show Permanent Roommates. “Permanent Roommates is globally the most watched web series on YouTube. It is at the number one spot. There is no other branded fiction property more popular than Permanent Roommate on YouTube,” boasts Kumar.

     

    The network has so far worked with 30 different brands for brand integrations. It has produced shows with brands such as Airtel, Flipakart, P&G and are currently also working with Kingfisher.

     

    Speaking on the road ahead, Kumar informs that their non-fiction vertical Recycle Bin will be pushed a lot this year. They are also looking to work with different partners for different genres of programming. Thirdly the company is also looking at enhancing its technology to disseminate content better. Talking about the cost involved, Kumar says, “For us cost does not reduce because the size of the screen reduces. We believe great content cannot be produced at a cheap cost. We can literally get Rs 10 out of Rupee one of content.”

     

    In his concluding remarks Kumar says that their one key challenge is to make Indian audiences respect great content. “Because they seem to be enslaved completely by Bollywood, which I think we have managed to change to certain extent the value and core remains to create and serve and disseminate premium content at par with global standards,” concludes Kumar.

  • AAP hurricane demolishes BJP and Congress

    AAP hurricane demolishes BJP and Congress

    If general election was swept by the Modi wave, Delhi assembly election certainly witnessed a Kejriwal hurricane. The Modi juggernaut has been bamboozled as his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was restricted to a mere three seats in Delhi. Indian National Congress’ decimating journey took one step forward; they failed to open their account, such was the story of National Capital on 10 February, 2015. Historians and political authors will have to mark this date as historical as any.

     

    A two year old party lead by an ex IIT-ian won 67 of 70 seats contesting against two of the largest national political parties in India. About a year ago on 14 February, 2014 Arvind Kejriwal resigned from the Chief Minister’s post and President’s rule was forced on the capital of world’s largest democracy. Many predicted it as the end of Aam Admi Party (AAP) and Arvind Kejriwal’s political career. Exactly a year later he is all set to take the oath again as the Chief Minister of Delhi, as Delhiites give him a historical mandate.

     

    Few note worthy points of the Delhi elections are:

     

    · The largest opposition party is BJP with three seats, which means Delhi will be legislation without opposition.

     

    · BJP’s Chief Ministerial candidate Kiran Bedi lost to advocate S K Bagga in her Krishna Nagar Constituency.

     

    · Three BJP candidates to win a seat were Om Prakash Sharma, Jagdish Pradhan and Vijender Kumar.

     

    · Congress failed to open its account and its Chief Ministerial candidate Ajay Maken was defeated by AAP’s Som Dutt in Sadar Bazar constituency.

     

    · BJP’s vote share almost remained the same. It was 34.12 per cent in 2013 and this time it is 33.80 per cent.

     

    · AAP’s vote share witnessed a substantial hike. During the 2013 assembly election it was 29.64 per cent, whereas the 2015 vote share increased to 53.30 per cent.

     

    · Congress suffered the worst decline in vote share. They were reduced to 8.60 per cent from 24.67 per cent in 2013.

     

    Indian media covered the ‘election day’ with esteemed sophistication. Every channel deployed huge number of reporters on field to cover each and every development. Media houses decorated their websites with innovative designs. NDTV uploaded ‘Sirf AAP,’ Arvind Kejriwal’s dream result right after the trends indicated a AAP sweep. Aaj Tak had an animation of Arvind Kejriwal ecstatically dancing. Times Now’s #Feb10withArnab was trending on Twitter.

     

    Prominent public figures used social media to share their reactions. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was one of the first to post a reaction. “Spoke to @ArvindKejriwal & congratulated him on the win. Assured him Centre’s complete support in the development of Delhi,” Modi tweeted. 

     

    Kiran Bedi also posted her reaction. “Full marks to Arvind. Congratulations. Now take Delhi to the heights it belongs to. Make it a world class city,” she tweeted.

     

    Journalists too used social media to share their opinion. NDTV’s Vikram Chandra tweeted, “I can’t recall seeing a 95% majority before. 3 lonely lotuses in a sea of jhaddus. #sirfAAP isn’t just a hashtag today. #NDTVResults.”

     

    Veteran journalist Rajdeep Sardesai posted, “67 of 70 Congress candidates lost their deposits. 60 per cent wins more than 10,000 votes. #AAPSweep.”

     

    Social activist Anna Hazare in an interview to CNN said, “Kiran Bedi not responsible for BJP’s defeat, Narendra Modi is.”

     

    The man of the hour Kejriwal dedicated his victory to party volunteers. He tweeted, “Volunteers. U did an amazing job. Relax for 2 days. Spend with your family. Sleep. Watch movies. Meditate. Chill. God bless u.”  

     

    The Aam Aadmi has won yet again!

  • Times Now comes with creative campaign to question crisis

    Times Now comes with creative campaign to question crisis

    MUMBAI: News channel Times Now has launched a campaign with the conviction to shape a better tomorrow. It was since the New Year that the channel had started to strengthen the core philosophy of the brand through sharp-focused positioning with ‘Times Now: Action Begins Here.’ The channel also launched a series of hard-hitting, issue-based films to raise social issues that bothers the society on a daily basis.

     

    Times Television Network CEO & managing director MK Anand said, “’Action Begins Here’ truly articulates what Times Now stands for, it explains what we are really doing. As India’s leading news brand, we are well aware of the power our voice has in society. And we constructively use that power to give voice to issues that affect our nation and raise the right questions that lead to Action. Action that leads to concrete solutions, to change for a better India. The re-positioning will be reflected in the overall brand communication coupled with intense and engaging content.”

     

    Times Now editor in cheif Arnab Goswami added, “Times Now has been the popular choice for more than seven years as the number one channel. We have changed news delivery from deadpan to passionate; from uninvolved to journalism that steps forward to fight for the citizen. ‘Action Begins Here’ is a campaign that reflects this new age journalism, and showcases our fundamental strength of direct reporting to viewers across the globe.”

     

    The 360 degree marketing plan includes extensive print, OOH, cinema, digital and cross-channel promotions.

     

  • Obamania: The biggest blockbuster of 2015

    Obamania: The biggest blockbuster of 2015

    For India weekend means late mornings, set of movies in theatres and relaxation. Subsequently Indian news media shifts the focus from hard news to Bollywood gossips and cupids. ’Twas a similar weekend but in the National Capital, the excitement was almost palpable on a sodden morning of fog and rain. The Eagle had indeed landed at the Palam Airport carrying POTUS and FLOTUS!

    Yes, it was the Air Force One carrying President of the United States Barack Obama and his wife and First Lady of the United States Michele Obama.

    Obamania had begun!

    The media spotlights were aimed on the door of that aircraft and journalists were on the edge of their seats in the studios. The moment the door opened, breaking news and flash tickers started rolling in each and every news channel. Every news channel began its claim of being distinguished and unabated. If one channel was emphasizing on economics, the other was showing exclusive footages of the hotel. Creative juices were flowing freely as far as headlines and programme names go on various news channels!

    NDTV named its coverage ‘Namo’ste Obama’, with anchoring responsibility majorly rotating amongst its senior brass of journalists namely Vishnu Som, Sreenivasan Jain, Vikram Chandra and Barkha Dutt. They ensured cameras were present everywhere and whatever penetrated through the lenses was discussed in detail with a panel of experts. Shekhar Gupta and Vivek Katju were among them.

    Times Now kept it simple by calling its coverage – “Obama’s India Visit.” CNN-IBN named it “Namaste Obama” and Headlines Today called it “Rolling Coverage Obama.”

    Speaking to Indiantelevision.com on the entire three days’ coverage, NDTV CEO Vikram Chandra said, “We had a distinguished panel that had expertise in various fields and we were determined to have a comprehensive coverage. We were the only channel to have presence in the Taj Palace, where the CEOs met President Obama and Prime Minister Modi. We were also present in DAVOS where global economics was debated in presence of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and economist Nouriel Roubini.”

    The US President’s visit to attend the 66th Republic Day Celebration of India was indeed an event of historical importance. That aside, a lot of economic and strategic modifications were also expected from the visit. India now has a stable Government with absolute majority in the Lower House and economic growth is one of the prime need of the country at this point. The current Government has made its position clear on developing an open, business friendly market scenario. Not long back, India was one of the fragile five economies of the world and now the country aspires to be in the fantastic five.

    All news channels were exclusively covering the developments in Hyderabad House where Obama met Modi for a bilateral dialogue. After hours of speculations of what was happening inside, the deadlock was broken in a joint press conference where channels got the second big breaking news, which they termed as ‘Nuke Deal.’ Soon after, all news broadcasters began discussions on the positives and negatives of the Indo – US nuclear deal. That was the major talking point of Day 1 of President Obama’s India visit.

    Day 2 was India’s Republic Day. It was bitterly cold weather with overcast sky accompanied by a slight drizzle and the focal point was ‘Rajpath.’ The coverage responsibility was on India’s public broadcaster Doordarshan. A three hour long extravaganza was put forward by valiant soldiers of respective battalions. And it concluded with an Air Show by the Indian Air Force.

    When queried about the entire coverage, Doordarshan India deputy director general (IR) C K Jain said, “We employed the best of infrastructure and technicians to cover the parade. There was absolutely no commercialisation and the parade was covered uninterrupted. We did not accept any commercial advertisement, we showed some government ads before and after.”

    All other private channels were relaying DD’s coverage.

    On a national holiday, when executives separate themselves from work and corporate meetings, 26 January would see them preparing for one of the biggest meetings of their lives. From Ratan Tata to Anil Ambani, they all queued up to meet POTUS. This was the second major talking point of Day 2 – the CEO meet. The focal point this time was ‘Taj Palace’ and the breaking news was the $4 billion investment promise made by Obama. The detailed discussion on the deal summed up Day 2 coverage of Obama’s Visit.

    Speaking about the commercial impact of the coverage, Maxus South Asia MD Kartik Sharma said, “We have to wait for the ratings to see which news channel performed better. As per my opinion, the English news channels were more specific and slightly better than the Hindi ones but Hindi news channels also catered well to their viewers. In news channels there was a marginal hike in ad rate due to Obama’s visit.”

    On Day 3, Obama left for Riyadh but before taking off he gave an amazing speech to the Indian media that could be discussed for days. Addressing a gathering of 2000 students, Obama started his speech by saying ‘Namaste’ and concluded it with ‘Jai Hind’. During his speech he paid gratitude to Mahatma Gandhi and Swami Vivekananda, warned India against communalism and domestic fragmentation. To add to the delight of the students and journalists present, he recited the famous dialogue from the iconic Bollywood film, which completed 1000 weeks at the box office recently – Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayennge (DDLJ). “Senorita, bade bade deshon mein…you know what I mean,” said Obama. Not surprisingly, soon after DDLJ started trending on social media and became an important part of the round up.

    Though Obama’s visit was not a Bollywood movie, it turned out to be one of the biggest blockbuster event followed by one and all for various reasons.

  • CNN-IBN outperforms Times Now as per latest TGI survey data

    CNN-IBN outperforms Times Now as per latest TGI survey data

    MUMBAI: CNN-IBN, India’s leading English News Channel, has outperformed Times Now on key critical parameters in the Target Group Index (TGI) study.
     
    TGI (Target Group Index) is a global market research conducted across 72 countries. In India, this study is conducted by IMRB. This study is considered as the most relevant for media agencies and advertisers for developing strategies and understanding consumer segments since it gives insights on consumption across 300 categories. The latest round of this study – Wave 2 (March-May, 2014+ Aug-Oct, 2014) had a sample size of 29,677 from Urban India (SEC AB 15-55 years) which is 7 times that of SEC AB audiences captured by the current Television Audience Measurement system in the country. Overall the study has a sample size of 40,000 (approx) which is 4 times that of the aforementioned system for overall audiences across SECs.
     
    According to the TGI data released by IMRB, CNN-IBN is clearly and significantly ahead of Times Now across multiple audiences especially SEC A segment (2 times)* and metro residents (2.4 times)*. Overall, viewers* who claim to watch CNN-IBN are 3.1 times more than Times Now. Viewers who are looking for in-depth news analysis, political news coverage and staying informed again prefer to watch CNN-IBN over Times Now. Even psychographically, progressive, modern, ambitious and knowledgeable audiences with a positive outlook towards life have a clear preference for CNN-IBN when compared to Times Now.
     
    CNN-IBN also outperforms Times Now in key product categories including automobiles, durables, e-commerce, tech products and FMCG. Amongst viewers who own cars/bikes, CNN-IBN claimed viewership is 3.57 times that of Times Now. Amongst viewers who own durables like TV, fridge, AC and washing machine, CNN-IBN outscores Times Now by 1.3 times. Those who tend to shop online also prefer to watch CNN-IBN again by a factor of 1.3 times.  Amongst viewers, who own or use latest technology and gadgets, CNN-IBN viewership is 2.6 times that of Times Now. Those who claim to be the primary household shoppers, a critical segment for any marketer, and watch CNN-IBN are 3.6 times those who claim to watch Times Now.
     
    *Claimed viewership as per TGI.

    Source: TGI India 2014, Wave 2 (Mar-May 2014 + Aug-Oct 2014); Urban India SEC AB 15-55 Yrs, Sample size – 29677.

     

  • State election results: A busy day for news channels

    State election results: A busy day for news channels

    MUMBAI: The year 2014 saw not only the 16th Lok Sabha election, but a number of states undergoing assembly elections as well.

     

    As the year ends, two states – Jammu & Kashmir and Jharkhand – casted their votes and elected their new governments. The result day i.e. 23 December, was a day of excitement for news channels as most of them started early with predictions. As the day progressed, the counting results were displayed on the screens as media stalwarts analysed the results.

     

    The numbers clearly showed the mark that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had left on these states as the BJP won a number of seats. In Jharkhand, the party has won with almost majority while in J&K, it is the second largest party after PDP. However, the “breaking news” was J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah losing from both Beerwah and Sonawar assembly constituency seats.

     

    The news channels focused on the next step of the political parties especially in J&K as there was no clear winner. The channels got a panel discussing the same as well as senior editors within the channel analysed the winners, the overall results as well as what discussions are going on behind the closed doors of parties on their next move.

     

    The analysis continued till late afternoon; with a little break as BJP’s Amit Shah held a press conference to talk about the party’s performance in the two states. “2014 is the year of BJP,” is what the right-hand man of Modi had to say.

     

    Throughout the day, the channels also gathered as well as took people’s reaction through their digital platforms. Hashtags like #Dec23WithArnab, #NDTVResults were created and promoted on channels as they geared for the big debates to be held at primetime.