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Tag: Times TV

  • Times TV gets into a gunfight with CNBC TV18 on Budget Day claims

    MUMBAI: There’s a gunfight on in Indian news television town. And, the gunslingers are: Times Television Network and TV18’s CNBC TV18.

    CNBC TV18 drew its gun first claiming that the channel had created unprecedented highs in viewership on budget day (1 February) cornering almost 86 per cent of English business news channel viewership as against 10 per cent for arch rival ET Now and four per cent by the others. And it made a lot of noise about it online and in print and outdoor media.

    Times Television Network has retaliated crying foul and has written letters to the sheriffs of news TV town – that is the Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF), the News Broadcasters Association (NBA), BARC, the Advertising Agencies Association of India and the Indian Society of Advertisers. (The letters are in the possession of indiantelevision.com).

    According to Times Television Network, its ET Now team observed a sudden spike in CNBC TV18’s reach to 2,289,000 as against an average of 289,000 over the previous thirteen weeks. This points to a manipulation of its viewership, states Times TV in a communication with indantelevision.com.

    How did CNBC TV18 allegedly achieve this?

    ET Now says its fiercest competitor allegedly “resorted to replacing the feeds of its network/bouquet channels with the feed of CNBC TV18, in the networks of MSOs like GTPL, InCable, E-Infra, Kaizen, Digicable, Manthan, Barasat, Meghbela.”

    And its communication has a list of cable TV networks detailing the channels that were allegedly replaced in each territory with CNBC TV18.

    “This helped it get an unfair advantage over the other competing channels… such an unnatural increase in the rating was not due to the channel’s coverage or the relevance of the day’s programming,” it further alleges in the email to indiantelevision.com. “The rating system of BARC captured the ratings of all the parallel LCNs on various networks and reported the same collectively as ratings for CNBC TV18. This was not just an addition to the regular and normal rating of the existing channel, but also a multiplication of the ratings, causing a sharp and unnatural spike. This fact could be corroborated by comparing the ratings of the regional channels – Colours and ETV, especially in the territories of Delhi, Bengaluru, Maharashtra, Kolkata, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, as these channels saw a drop in their ratings on Budget day.”

    Times Television Network has urged the associations “to investigate and take action against TV18 and direct them not to indulge in such practices as it doesn’t only damage the reputation of broadcasters, but also causes disruption among them. Let’s hope this case serves as a precedent against using such unwarranted methods in the industry.”

    Indiantelevision.com reached out to the corporate communications team at Network18 and got a point-blank denial on the allegation that it resorted to dirty tricks on Budget Day.

    “We are not aware of any such complaint, nor have we received any communication in this regard. CNBC-TV18 has always been at the forefront when it comes to the Union Budget coverage and has been a leader on the Budget day even in the past. Viewers chose to watch our channel because of the content and we believe in investing in our channel to ensure quality is maintained. Any suggestion that we have used unfair means is a false propaganda by competition to justify their dismal performance. We disapprove of anyone spreading rumours about us and accept the viewer’s choice.”

    TV viewership monitor BARC acknowledged that it had got a letter from Times Television Network highlighting the alleged CNBC TV 18 Budget Day tactics.

    A spokesperson explained that “broadcasters may opt to make their channel (s) available on more than one slot/frequency on a particular distribution platform for a variety of reasons: such decisions are entirely within the domain of the broadcaster and distribution platform (DTH, cable etc). Regulatory issues pertaining to this, if any, would lie within the domain of Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (MIB) and/or the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). Pre-empting or stopping broadcasters from making efforts to raise visibility of their channels is not within our remit. Our mandate is to measure what people watch and for how long. We strictly follow Government of India guidelines on the matter.”

    “By virtue of its mandate, and the technology deployed, BARC India measures viewership of a watermarked channel, irrespective of the platform it is available on, and also the number of instances within that platform. As long as all/multiple feeds carry the same unique watermark, BARC India’s Bar-o-Meters would read all of them as one channel and we would report its ratings as a single channel. In effect, multiple instances of a channel on a single platform is not very dissimilar to its availability across multiple platforms, or distribution modes.”

    In the past, networks such as Star India have simulcast cricket on many of its channels. It did the same for its Aamir Khan hosted show Satyamev Jayate which was also aired on Doordarshan and in different languages on its various regional channels as well as on Eenadu TV.

    Will Times TV Network take BARC’s response at face value? Or will it go further and seek to change the way the latter monitors and reports viewership? Or will it continue its fight by going to TRAI and the MIB? Or will the Times TV Network and other broadcast network managements learn from CNBC TV18’s Budget Day tactics and also go for roadblocks on distribution platforms for select events on a channel?

    Clearly, the last of the bullets has not been fired in this gun battle.

    Also Read:

    http://www.indiantelevision.com/television/tv-channels/viewership/news-channels-across-genres-see-rise-in-ratings-cnbc-tv18-leads-in-viewership-170203

    http://www.indiantelevision.com/television/tv-channels/news-broadcasting/barc-india-suspends-three-errant-channels-review-161125

    http://www.indiantelevision.com/television/tv-channels/viewership/whether-barc-action-can-stop-unethical-practices-161021

    http://www.indiantelevision.com/specials/year-enders/barc-india-gets-thumbs-up-for-2016but-challenges-remain-170111

  • Times TV: Scans Cannes for English flicks

    Times TV: Scans Cannes for English flicks

    With the recent introduction of Romedy Now to its existing portfolio of channels, the Times Television Network (TTN) will be exploring new content opportunities for its channels Movies Now and the newbie at this year’s MIPCOM.

    Set to take place in Cannes’ eponymous Palais des Festivals off the Boulevard de la Croisette between 7 and 10 October 2013, MipCom is expected to be the biggest since several years, and it appears as though the entertainment ecosystem seems to have shrugged off the economic woes that have been making news headlines in several countries worldwide.

    The scale has tilted from being a buyers’ market to a sellers’ market over the last few years stresses Ajay Trigunayat

    For TTN’s English entertainment channels CEO Ajay Trigunayat, this would be his tenth year at Cannes. Having represented Zee from 2002 to 2006 and TTN (Movies Now) from 2010-12, this year, Trigunayat will be scouting for content to be shown on Romedy Now, TTN’s newly launched romance and comedy channel.

    “I’ll be looking for movies and series and if there is something interesting, then I will have a look at that as well,” says Trigunayat, adding, “The scale has tilted from being a buyers’ market to a sellers’ market over the last few years.”

    While a cross-section of genres like romance, comedy, action, thriller and horror would be under his scrutiny, he isn’t too keen on drama movies. “We don’t buy drama because it does not have too much of traction with Indian audiences,” he emphasises. 

    For TTN, MIPCOM is more about meeting people and getting to know them on a personal level. According to Trigunayat, it’s a catalyst for meetings to happen while real deals happen later on.

    He is looking forward to meeting biggies like Fox, Warner Bros, and Regency and see what they have in store for them from this year’s releases. On the subject of budgets, he says a substantial amount of money (higher double digit crores) is kept aside for acquisitions, the discussions for which begin or end as deals at MIPCOM.

    He gives an example of how discussions were initiated with Monarchy, the production side of Regency, last year, and more than 100 titles were bought from them. He points out that his team is sticking to big titles and from major studios worldwide and Latin American films are not part of his slate as their quality and sensibilities don’t appeal to Indian viewers. 

  • Happy News Year – By Times TV Group MD & CEO Sunil Lulla

    Happy News Year – By Times TV Group MD & CEO Sunil Lulla

    Good Morning and a Happy News Year. I am happy to report The News from the front lines of the news battleground. Returning after a sabbatical, it gives one a fresh perspective into what went by and what to, perhaps, expect next.

    2009 had begun on the back of the most alarming news event of the decade: the terror attacks of Mumbai.

    2009 also witnessed the biggest news event of 2009, the General Elections and an accidental death of a Chief Minister, which was widely covered.

    Not much changed in the stack up of the news channels – the #1s continued their reign respectively, Aaj Tak, Times Now and CNBC. New channels came into the offing. Some changed ownership. Regional News was the hero of the year, clocking most significant viewership…

    If I take this route ahead with this news bulletin, it would be so conventional. While I have been asked to comment on the year, which went by and what to expect in the coming year, I thought I would rather report what my candid conversation with folks connected with TV News broadcasting reveals. Turning this rewind-forward commentary, to views gathered from experts (names withheld on request) over a few candid conversations.

    1. Profitability
    Business leaders in the domain believe the big challenge is profitability. Of the listed news entities, only one network has stayed ahead, going by its public reports. Others have taken a hit! Perhaps due to the challenging financial conditions of the last two years and/or due to the increase in costs structures.

    See it any way, profitability of the TV news industry is under significant strain. This may be bad news for investment but it is also a big opportunity for businesses to spruce up their act. With over 200 news channels across all languages and genres, certainly a challenging act. A prominent investment banker believes the next two years provide opportunity for consolidation, projects some of the news networks may dither off the horizon and those focused around profitability are most likely to succeed.

    Profitability for news is not a bad term. It is essential, as firms which do not make the cut, eventually vanish and so does the editorial associated with it. Hence for the “freedom of the press” to exist, being profitable is even more essential.

    There are 4 underlying fundamentals to profitability

    Market Positioning: Each news Network has a position in the minds of its viewers. News is not vanilla. Most viewers have a choice and a repertoire and a set of channels they almost never visit. News networks need to invest in growing their position. With the wide range and choice that exists in the market place, positions can be adopted by way of brand offering and editorial experience. This is what leaders of news networks need to apply themselves to.

    Ad Revenues: The gap in revenues amongst the top 3 of top 5 is decreasing and growth of the leaders is not as significant in historical periods. Yet the category as such is not saturated. The leaders need to pick the pace. Set the standard. Up the price and ante and not crowd to the median price point.

    One of the challenges the industry faces is to learn to sell audiences and not just market shares. The quantity and quality of audiences. Not just Tam audiences, but the homes the news network reaches. This change in strategy and market-based positioning can be the sleigh on which the next Christmas fortune may be written.

    Subscription Revenues: Some of the news networks have been successful in turning “Pay”. For some the earning – learning has been lower than market potential. But strong brands can move ahead and begin to grow their revenue curve by focussing on subscription revenues.

    The worry of viewership shares is driving the channels to commit for larger ground paid connectivity. But true strong brands will find its loyal viewers ask for them. One cannot be indifferent and say news is news..that‘s why the pecking order has stayed largely stable. There are ” News Brands” and they have a demand, for which they can charge. Brands are language agnostic.

    Cost Structures: It‘s not about the quantum of costs but about the nature of the cost structure. Is this sustainable in the medium turn for businesses to be profitable? Is there potential to find cost arbitrage in the nature of news gathering and ground connectivity amongst news channels? Can local channels work co-share resources or reportage or news blocks, so prominent in the mature US markets, as an example. Each News Network has an astute understanding of what works for itself and what is rarely used, arbitrage that. Rationalize to build essential cost structures and not unsustainable ones. As an illustrative example, Is it really necessary to be in international markets, if say a channel is losing money? Is that sustainable?

    2. Editorialisation, Not Sensationalism
    The editorial independence of TV news networks continues to grow with balanced strength, Aligned to its viewers needs and to provide objectivity in news reporting. The term sensationalism is sometimes used to describe the dramatic visualisation of a story. It is not a replacement for the quality of editorialisation which continues to grow. Who will determine what is what? The editorial flow of news is committed to providing the news in a simplistic, objective manner. It must use the metaphor to create the necessary visual drama for its viewers to understand.

    News is no more simple. There are multiple views, all of which are right. There are various hierarchies: the government, justice, social justice, the lobbyist, the consumers rights, the editorial right et al. All need to be balanced and put together in a manner which is cohesive and does not tempt the remote button to be pushed.

    We acknowledge there are temptations and those may exceed the boundaries. But then social networking, blogging, independent reports etc keep flexing these boundaries and new ones get created. India has been largely balanced, informative, educative and in many recent a time, bought to the table excesses, be it of state or individual. The very same which accuse of sensationalism are those which cause it. Strange isn‘t it? When it does not suit you, the media is no more your friend?

    The media, my dear was never your friend. It is as unbiased “as a potato”, what you do with it, will give you the taste you want. News is all pervasive and has bought to society a new spectrum of information.

    3. Corridor of Collaboration
    In recent times, with the advent of the News Broadcasters Association (NBA) and other cooperation measures introduced by many news networks, the industry is getting better equipped to collaborate and compete. Those who embrace this approach are likely to see better fortunes for themselves. Transparency in collaborations creates for better understanding, deters suspicion and makes for a stronger market place. Be this by way of sharing of local news with national channels or the other way around. Or news blocks on networks, co-branded or branded otherwise.

    The practice of sharing the local advertising time, via local avail, has already begun and seems to a market gainer for all. There is more to be done, as not all news networks are members of the NBA. The corridor of togetherness will drive new practices, forge collaborations and result in better profitability. As an illustrative example, connectivity costs, news gathering and sharing, best practices in terms of disciplines, new technical alliances, taxation and import policies.

    So what is the news forecast for 2010? All is well. Yet nothing much may change and there may be more bitter rather than sweet moments, unless the industry takes rapid and conscious charge of the above. I am very optimistic of the industry and so were the experts I spoke with – from editors to business leaders, to media experts, to consumers…

    The news is important and everyone wants to be in it. So hang in and make the TV news industry hang in too.