MxMIndia

Category: MEDIA

  • He was most recently the Senior Director of Sales at Komli Media, leading up to Komli’s merger with SVG Media last month

    Akshay Mathur appointed Senior VP of Komli Media

    By A Correspondent

     

    SVG Media has announced the appointment of Akshay Mathur as Senior Vice President of Komli Media, effective immediately. In his new role in Komli Media, Akshay will lead business operations as well as Sales & Marketing functions and will be responsible for its P&L. He was most recently the Senior Director of Sales at Komli Media, leading up to Komli’s merger with SVG Media last month.

     

    Akshay joined Komli in 2011 and has a total of 13-years of experience in both digital and print sales. Before joining Komli, Akshay was a part of the revenue monetization team and focused on the telecom industry in Yahoo Inc. He has earlier worked with The Times of India, The People Group and The Jaypee Group in various sales and marketing roles. He had also founded an e-commerce and web solutions company, Orion Technologies in the year 2000.

     

    Welcoming Akshay to SVG’s leadership team, Manish Vij, Founder and CEO, SVG Media said, “Akshay’s rich experience, client relationships and his deep understanding of Komli’s business and the internal environment make him the natural choice for leading Komli’s next phase of growth under the SVG umbrella.  We also welcome other senior leadership of Komli Media by retaining the team and culture of the organization.

     

  • Police examines CCTV footage as Press Club asks for an apology & compensation to journalist

    #EMVIESCARE: ET to boycott Ad Club, Press Club issues statement

     

    By A Correspondent [updated]

     

    Even as the Advertising Club has stuck to its stand that it did whatever it could in the regard and has reprimanded event organiser Fountainhead and got an apology from the firm, Economic Times, clearly the largest and most influential business daily and also the preferred choice of advertising folk to break their stories, has decided to boycott all coverage of Ad Club events, it is learnt.

     

    This isn’t the first time the Times of India group has boycotted a business entity. In the past, it has even boycotted the Tata group. Ironically, Emvies 2015 was sponsored by the Times Network, albeit only the television arm of the group. In fact, because the Times Network was the primary sponsor, other English business channels like CNBC-TV18 were not allowed to cover the event. One of the journalists accompanying the lady who was attacked works the TOI group.

     

    Meanwhile, the Press Club Mumbai, the association of journalists which has also other members of the ecosystem as its members, has issued a statement on the incident (reproduced below). The Club has, in the past, raised several issues concerning freedom of speech and threats posed to journalism and journalists.

     

    In fact it’s important that journalists across media entities take up this issue and ensure that their own organisations provide them more facilities (and protection) when they are being asked to cover late-night events. While the Ad Club (and hence part of the advertising fraternity) has exposed itself by not caring enough about the well-being of an authorised delegate of their event, we are sure other event organisers too aren’t adequately equipped to handle such eventualities. The issue is that will the officebearers of “other” organisations be as indifferent and casual in their response.

     

    On the Advertising Club President, the charge is that if he couldn’t get there himself, he should have ensured that someone responsible at the Ad Club paid attention to this incident. There were enough senior members of the adfrat present – including those from amongst the winning teams. This includes the Chairman of the Organising Committee who was present at the venue.

     

    According to an unofficially served account, Bipin Pandit, the long-standing head of the Ad Club secretariat, was attending to four women from a leading organisation who had passed out after excessive consumption of alcohol.

     

    Meanwhile, the information we have received is that when the head of corporate communications of a large ad network reached out to a top functionary of the Ad Club, s/he was sloshed, but assured the corp comm head that things will be taken care of. And that s/he will take care of things and immediately sent two of his people to take stock. The people, it turned later, were college volunteers. We aren’t naming the people concerned as the information has not been verified by MxMIndia.

     

    As per information received by MxMIndia, the police has got into action.  The police has reportedly asked the hotel for CC TV footage from within the hotel.

     

    Certain sections of the media covering advertising and media events want heads to roll in the Ad Club. They are now waiting former Ad Club president Shashi Sinha to return from overseas and sort things out.

     

    In the meantime, it would be advised to all to stay easy and observe restraint – especially on the social media. Outbursts on the social media and microblogs can be counterproductive, and divert attention. But we do expect the Ad Club to act on the issue, and make public its point of view.

     

    The Mumbai Press Club Statement:

    Attack on woman journalist: Mumbai Press Club deplores the casual attitude of The Ad Club and event agency Fountainhead

    A lady journalist who was coming out of the St Regis (earlier Palladium), a 5-star hotel in Lower Parel, after covering the Advertising Club of Bombay’s Emvie awards, was brutally attacked by a ‘guest’ at the event around 11.30 pm on Friday night.

    The lady journalist raised an alarm and the Phoenix Mall security staff managed to detain the offender, Rambabu Ramprakash Godia, who was in a completely inebriated condition. Initially, the organizers of the Emvee event, not made any move to summon the police to take the assailant into custody. The police were ultimately contacted by the fellow journalists. More shockingly, the Advertising Club, and the event coordinator, Fountainhead, made no move to intervene even after the police registered an FIR against the assailant’. The journalist repeatedly contacted the executives, but no assistance was rendered though she was in the police station till 3.00 am in the morning.

    The role of the executives of The Advertising Club and Fountainhead was disgraceful to say the least as it was and their invitation the assailant Rambabu Godia managed to sneak into the event. The assailant is a peon at a garment shop, and had nothing to do with the advertising industry or the Emvie awards. It now turns out that an employee of Fountainhead, which organized the event, gave a complimentary pass to the assailant. The accused has been arrested and remanded in judicial custody till September 25.

    We demand that the event organisers own up and apologize to the lady journalist and compensate her for her ordeal. The Ad Club and Fountainhead should also launch an internal inquiry and penalize those who were responsible for the lax security at the event. They must also make sure for future events that the safety of journalists especially women is provided for.

    Rajesh Mascarenhas

    Secretary, Mumbai Press Club

     

  • We pinched ourselves. Did we read right? Is this the same Star India CEO who is always propah in his ways?

    What the fur! All India Bakchod gets Uday Shankar cheeky in his communiqué

    By A Correspondent

    Five years back, when our editor asked him to do a high five for Impact magazine, he was very hesitant on how it would impact his image. But those were early days still in his captaincy of Star India. Now, after having established itself as the #1 media professional in the country and as a gamechanger with the strides he has taken in sports broadcast, the former news journalist (and at heart still one), has been dramatically (and pleasantly) kewl in a press release we received on Tuesday.

    The communiqué was about how comedy entity All India Bakchod (referred to AIB to prevent the mouthing of an expletive in its name… chod, if you will still didn’t get it). And this is how Shankar’s quote read: “”I am told that based on extensive, exhaustive research, AIB are considered mildly entertaining and we should give them a show on our network. I have complete faith that we will regret this in the months to come.”

    We pinched ourselves. Did we read right? Is this the same Star India CEO who is always propah in his ways?

    The quote from Ajit Mohan, Head of Hotstar, was equally irreverent. “We are sort of excited to bring AIB’s brand of mature humor to our platform. This may be the start of a new era of quality content in India, I am told. Janta hamein maaf karein,” it said.

    Not surpisingly some copy-and-paste journos jointly simply Control-C-V-ed the release.

    We didn’t. We are MxMIndia.

    Okay, dudes, and if you notice we are trying to get effing hip and mother-effing happening without using Hindi gaalis like MCBC, but English expletives which make us sound very evolved.

    No, let’s leave all the smart talk to You Shanx and his boys and babes. Yo man!

  • Multi Screen Summary: BBC Earth is home to the BBC's award-winning factual programmes and the work of some of the world’s foremost factual film makers

    Sony BBC Earth set for India launch

    By A Correspondent

     

    Media Private Limited (MSM) has signed a deal with BBC Worldwide to bring BBC Earth, a new premium factual channel, to Indian audiences.

     

    BBC Earth is home to the BBC’s award-winning factual programmes and the work of some of the world’s foremost factual film makers. It showcases the incredible wonders of our universe, from the smallest creature under the microscope to the limitless expanses of space and brings viewers face to face with heart pounding action, mind blowing ideas and the wonder of being human.

     

    The channel, called Sony BBC Earth on air, will broadcast in HD and will be available in Tamil, English and Hindi across India.

     

    NP Singh

    NP Singh, Chief Executive Officer, MSM said: “This partnership with BBC Worldwide gives us an unparalleled edge in distributing factual programming to viewers across MSM’s network in India and to sharing with them, some of the best television content ever. Sony BBC Earth will combine information and entertainment in real surroundings. And audiences that crave the virgin thrill and adventure of exploring natural environments, demystifying science and rewriting history will find it difficult to meander away from this channel. We are confident that within a short span of time, this new channel will carve its own distinct positioning in the minds of the discerning Indian viewer.”

     

    Paul Dempsey, President, BBC Worldwide Global Markets said: “This is a pioneering model for us. By working with a respected local partner of the calibre of MSM we can bring BBC Earth’s world class content to a new audience who we know have a huge appetite for premium factual programming.”

     

    BBC Worldwide will draw on its extensive catalogue of programming and reputation for excellence in the premium factual, while MSM which runs the Sony network of television channels in the country has extensive experience and expertise not only in programming but also in operating and distributing televised entertainment both, in India and across the globe.

     

    Both, the formation of the JV as well as the launch of Sony BBC Earth is subject to necessary regulatory approvals in India, for which the process is currently underway.

     

     

  • In the entertainment business, if you get even 30% of what you launch right, you are a champion, whereas in any self-respecting FMCG company, that could mean you have to look for another job very soon, writes Shailesh Kapoor

    Shailesh Kapoor: Should 30% Success Rate Still Be Acceptable?

    By Shailesh Kapoor

     

    Over the last decade, the entertainment business has started attracting more senior talent from outside than ever before. The industry has been able to match the pay packages offered by FMCG and telecom majors at senior levels, though a fairly wide gap remains at the entry level. Many have also moved because of their inherent passion for the media and entertainment business.

     

    Anyone who joins the entertainment business from a more traditional industry first observes the alarming difference in the product failure rates of the two industries. In the entertainment business, if you get even 30% of what you launch right (read: It doesn’t lose money), you are a champion. In any self-respecting FMCG company, that could mean you have to look for another job very soon.

     

    Several arguments, in the ‘apples-to-oranges’ domain, are given to justify why we should not compare failure rates in the two industries. In many ways, a myth has been propagated over the last two decades that the process of consuming entertainment is a lot more complex than that of consuming a conventional consumer product, and hence, it is difficult to ascertain what the entertainment consumers want and what will catch their fancy.

     

    I must mention that not all propagators of this myth are ‘old school’ in their thinking. Several are, in fact, fairly liberal in their thinking, making films and TV shows that challenge the status quo. But it’s the lack of an understanding of the other side (the classical marketing side, a la FMCG) that comes in the way.

     

    With ‘outside’ talent entering the industry, things have changed, albeit slowly. A simple way for us to assess that by knowing how many programme concepts, pilots, scripts and films are being tested with consumers before critical business decisions related to them (go or no-go, budgeting, slot, release scale, etc.) are taken.

     

    The number of television concepts tested using Ormax True Value, our content testing tool for broadcasters (predicts on-air performance, specifically the steady-state TSV), has been increasing by 50% year-on-year since 2009. Similarly, the number of films we test using Ormax Moviescope (predicts lifetime box-office)has been doubling year-on-year since 2011. Script-testing for films was non-existent till as recently as two years ago, but there is increasing interest in it today.

     

    Interestingly, many television concepts that do not test well are still being put on-air. Sometimes, this decision has already been taken, and the testing is done to validate the instinct that led to the commissioning decision. When the results are positive, it’s celebration time. But when they are not, it’s a case of hoping that the research is proven wrong. It’s what I like to call ‘The Hope Strategy’. Even a marketing intern will tell you it’s not the best strategy for a brand that aspires to be a leader in its category.

     

    But ‘The Hope Strategy’ is still better than the one that’s based on no consumer information at all (that’s the ‘Hopeless’ one). To that extent, we have made some progress. But there’s a while to go before we can match up to the best in the marketing world on product success rates. There’s a while to go before the acceptable success rate increases from 30% to at least 60%.

     

  • Mindshare topped the award tally with four golds and Agency of the Year in mobile; PepsiCo declared Marketer of the Year

    Mindshare, Pepsico win big at Smarties

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    The Mobile Marketing Association Forum (MMAF) Delhi 2015, came to a close with the announcement of the Smarties India 2015 awards. Gold, Silver, and Bronze award winners were announced in 15 categories ranging from Brand Awareness to Cross Media Integration. In addition to the category awards, the Smarties India 2015 also introduced the Blue industry awards that included Agency of the Year in Mobile, Marketer of the Year in Mobile, Publisher/Media of the Year in Mobile, Enabling Technology Company of the Year in Mobile and Best in show titles.

     

    Mindshare and PepsiCo were the big winners for the night. Mindshare led the race with 4 Golds winning the Agency of the Year in Mobile Award while PepsiCo was chosen as the Marketer of the Year in Mobile. The other winners for the night included Facebook as the Publisher/Media of the Year in Mobile, Paytm as the Enabling Technology Company of the Year in Mobile and the Best in Show award was shared by Red Fuse Communications for their campaign ‘Spreading a Million Smiles with a Mobile’ and Mindshare India for ‘Lays hid the Treasure Hunt inside Google Maps’.

     

    “I’d like to congratulate all the award winners. I think I speak not only for myself but also on behalf of the Jury when I say that we were really impressed with the entries this year. They were truly representative of the innovation that drives the mobile marketing industry and great work that’s happening across India. We hope to inspire marketers to further push the envelope in their own campaigns and look forward to more innovations and participation in the future.” said Rohit Dadwal, Managing Director, Mobile Marketing Association Asia Pacific.

     

    Commenting on the wins Prasanth Kumar, CEO South Asia said, “I must admit, this year is turning into a great run for us.  I would firstly like to thank my team, our esteem clients and our partners who help us to do better. We are extremely happy to win the ‘Agency of the Year in Mobile’ award this year and have been able display wins across brands and also across categories. We will continue to do exemplary work for our clients in adaptive marketing strategies and solutions with best in class service standards.”

     

    The 2015 Smarties India Blue Industry Awards Winners:

     

    The 2015 Smarties India Awards Winners:

     

     

  • This is a classic male, patriarchal response to successful women or women who appear to be successful. And NDTV is the particular target of a certain mindset. Although there are female editors, anchors and reporters in every television newsroom across all languages in India, NDTV bears the brunt of social media anger, writes Ranjona Banerji

    Ranjona Banerji: Time to stand together against despicable targeting of women journos

    By Ranjona Banerji

     

    There is a despicable Whatsapp forward doing the rounds about women journalists at NDTV, naming them and outlining how many times they have been married, how they have “trapped” men and how they are carrying on “illicit affairs”. The message ends with the “witticism”: Is this NDTV or Shaadi.com”, a reference to a popular marriage website.

     

    It does not matter whether the allegations or “facts” are correct or not. What is worrying is the snide venom that is behind this particular message and such messages in general. Women remain easy targets on social media and women in journalism even easier. The easiest way to attack is of course by sexual innuendo because then it reduces women to one aspect of their existence: their genitalia and/or their reproductive uses.

    This is a classic male, patriarchal response to successful women or women who appear to be successful. And NDTV is the particular target of a certain mindset. Although there are female editors, anchors and reporters in every television newsroom, across languages, in India, NDTV bears the brunt of social media anger.

    The most obvious reason is that the channel has long been perceived as pro-Congress Party. This apparently is reason enough for any amount of targeted viciousness. Interestingly, the men in the channel do not bear the brunt of this social media anger. In fact, NDTV founder Dr Prannoy Roy remains one of the most respected names in Indian television, as he well deserves to be. But the women he employs apparently all paid Congress agents and sexual predators. The anger against NDTV, especially amongst the Indian rightwing and supporters of the BJP-RSS, is so extreme that a few months ago Union finance minister Arun Jaitley was attacked just for being interviewed by Barkha Dutt. The irony of Jaitley being part of the BJP and a vital part of this government was completely lost on his attackers.

    But is Indian journalism’s worst sin the sexcapades of female journalists? Let’s see. We continue to deal with the problem of paid media, which specifically refers to media house managements selling editorial space to political parties with or without the knowledge of editors. Then we have the deals with businesses. Almost every newsroom has a list of industrialists who are untouchable. Media gossip says that Mumbai police commissioner Rakesh Maria had to be transferred out because he was getting too close to the Mukerjea-9X money trail. Then there is the problem of political affiliations impinging on free reporting and analysis.

    One of the biggest unspoken problem in newsrooms, regardless of the sexual harassment case against Tehelka founder Tarun Tejpal, is that of predatory male editors and junior staff, usually female. Most newsrooms have not followed the Supreme Court’s Vishakha guidelines or if they have implemented them, scant attention is paid to them. Innumerable horror stories continue to emerge. But do tell, how many Whatsapp messages have you seen about these incidents?

    Online trolling of women journalists, often by their male colleague or peers continues. Many of these trolls are well-known names hiding behind anonymous handles. Yet most women journalists would rather follow the law or are squeamish – which is why their names are not made public. Men, as we see everyday, have no such scruples.

    The torment that the women journalists of the Hindi newspaper Khabar Lahariya have suffered for most of 2015 by a persistent stalker and the apathy of the UP police was discussed in my last column. Apparently, some progress is being made in that case now that the problem has been made public.

    It is time for women and men in journalism to stand together. This sort of targeting of prominent women journalists needs outright condemnation. You do not have to be admirers of their journalistic skills. You just have to know that targeting them for being female is unacceptable.

  • The AAAI and IAA India Presidents welcome the new Ad Club prez and offer support and cooperation

    Raj Nayak, mancom take charge at Ad Club

    By A Correspondent

     

    Among the first things he did in public after getting his team in place was to set up a Twitter handle for the Club. And it’s evident, that the Club’s outreach will increase manifold.

     

    MxMIndia was the first to report that senior industryperson and Colors CEO Raj Nayak was elected President of the Advertising Club. This was held at the Club’s Annual General Meeting  in Mumbai last week.

     

    The new officebearers elected are: Vice President: Dr Bhaskar Das, Group CEO, Zee Media Corporation; Secretary: Vikram Sakhuja, Senior Media & Marketing Professional; Joint Secretary: Ajay Kakkar, Chief Marketing Officer, Aditya Birla Group-Financial Services;  Treasurer: Shashi Sinha, CEO, IPG Mediabrands India. Pratap Bose, Chairman & Co-founder, The Social Street will be Immediate Past President.

     

    The other members elected to the Managing Committee are: Rohit Gupta (Multi Screen Media), Punitha Arumugam (Google India), Namrata Tata (Viacom18), Ajay Chandwani (Percept, Strategic Brand Consultant), Pradeep Dwivedi (Dainik Bhaskar group), Vikas Khanchandani (Aidem) and Viral Jani (Twitter). Senior industryperson Ramesh Narayan has been co-opted to the Managing Committee. Prasoon Joshi, CEO, McCann World Group India and Chairman (Asia Pacific) has been inducted as Special Invitee and Creative Advisor. Satyaki Ghosh, Director-Consumer Product Division L’Oreal India has also been inducted as a Special Invitee.

     

    As someone who has followed Ad Club mancom compositions closely said, the composition this year is interesting and has some new faces.

     

    Commenting on his appointment, Raj Nayak, said in a communique, “I am humbled by the faith and trust that my friends and well wishers in the Industry have bestowed on me. It will be my sincere endeavor to work towards strengthening and building upon the foundation on which the club has been built over the last six decades.”

     

    In a significant departure from the past, the press release formally announcing the election of Nayak and the constituting of the new managing committee was welcomed with statements from the Presidents of the Advertising Agencies Association of India and the International Advertising Association. Welcoming the announcement M G Parameswaran said “ Ad Club is a wonderful institution with a great legacy of achievements. I am delighted to hear that Raj Nayak is taking over as its next President. I am sure he will bring his own brand of energy, excitement and innovation to take The Ad Club to greater heights. We at AAAI look forward to a great partnership with the Ad Club in all our joint industry efforts.” Ambi, as Parameswaran, is known in the industry is a former Ad Club president.

     

    Srinivasan Swamy, President, IAA India Chapter and VP-Development, IAA Asia Pacific said: “With Raj Nayak as President, we can expect to see a new phase in Ad Club’s history – which will be more vibrant, more purposeful, more relevant, more classy. IAA India, if invited, would be happy to partner with Ad Club on initiatives that build the competencies of the industry at various levels. There are a few events/properties that are exclusive to Ad Club or IAA, but clearly there are opportunities where cooperation between the two will be synergistic. IAA looks forward to this interesting phase with great enthusiasm”.

     

    Meanwhile, the Ad Club Twitter handle is: @TheAdClub_India. We’re following it J

     

     

  • JITB's mandate includes buying digital media space for the experiential travel company

    Jack in the Box Worldwide bags digital account of TUI India

    By A Correspondent

     

    Leading leisure travel company, TUI India has awarded its digital communications duties to Jack in the Box Worldwide.

     

    National Business Head and Executive Vice President of Jack in the Box Worldwide, Abhishek Razdan said, “​TUI plans to intensify its India reach manifold in the months to come, for which detailed ground-work has already commenced. Travelers of today are curious globalists who seek experiences online, so our strategy will tilt heavily towards digital platforms. We will help TUI establish connect with the audience through our quality content approach, transforming the brand into a publisher. In fact, we’re already on track towards the first digital video campaign in October for their upcoming content platform.”

     

    Jack in the Box will also undertake media buying in the digital space as part of the mandate.

     

    Chief Operating Officer of TUI India, Vishal Sinha said, “The travel industry relies heavily on word-of-mouth and recommendations and we believe our digital platforms will be the key to deliver this. Customers are moving to the digital channels to research, get inspired, share their excitement pre-travel and finally post their experience on return. TUI India’s key focus in 2015-16 is to increase its distribution channels and make quality travel more accessible – having a robust digital presence is the key pillar for TUI to become India’s leading travel company. With Jack in the box Worldwide, we are confident of creating an active community of travelers or ‘TUIrists’ who will help other travelers seek and share travel ideas.”

     

     

  • Sumit Sen, Editor of The Times of India, Kolkata, passed away on Sunday night after a valiant battle with cancer. He was 60

    Sumit Sen, Editor of TOI Kolkata, passes away

    By A Correspondent

     

    Sumit Sen, Editor of The Times of India, Kolkata, passed away on Sunday night after a valiant battle with cancer. He was 60.

     

    A keen and versatile journalist who cut his teeth in The Statesman before moving on to The Hindustan Times in 2001 and The Times of India in 2003, Sumit Sen was as passionate about his work till his last day in office as he was on the day he started out as a cub reporter on the crime beat.

     

    Even till Sunday evening ­ just an hour or so before his passing ­ he was planning a major campaign on the mystery around Netaji’s death and taking stock of the daily reports. Fellow journalists remember him for his enthusiasm, focus, and the way he made friends out of complete strangers.

     

    During his time with TOI, he gave the Kolkata edition a burst of energy, direction and fighting spirit. Always brimming with ideas, he would constantly coax colleagues to think out of the box, and stay ahead of the times. Under him, TOI Kolkata came to be known as a paper that was always fresh and positive.

     

    He fought through pain for the last nine months to carry on working the way he always did. When someone complimented him on his will power, he would brush it away and say, “I am simply taking this as another phase of life. This, too, shall pass.”

     

    Marcus Dam, who was with him at The Statesman and remained a close friend for over 30 years, said: “It was a WhatsApp message about two weeks ago. In response to a ‘hope u r doing well’, he sent back a smiley. He was a man of few words. His language was simple. He was very passionate about his work and very loving. We have shared a huge number of secrets that perhaps no one else knows about. I won’t call it a loss. He is someone not to be lost. He is always around. He and I shared a dream of taking a vacation in the hills. When the rains came down in Kolkata, whenever it used to turn misty, he would always call me and describe it as ‘home weather’. He took pride in the fact that he was from North Bengal. Yes, he will always be around.”

     

    Chief minister Mamata Banerjee offered her condolences and rushed to hospital late at night to pay her last respects. The TOI family and Kolkata media were in complete shock and struggling to deal with the untimely loss of someone so vibrant.

     

    Sumitda, as his colleagues and friends called him, is survived by his wife, noted Bharatnatyam dancer Malabika Sen.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2015, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

    Licensed to republish

     

  • Digital media accounted for 50% of deal volume in India in 2014, as per EY's M&E Capital Confidence Barometer

    Digital shining on Deal Street: EY

     

    India has seen a substantial increase in Media and Entertainment (M&E) deal activity in the last year, with digital media becoming the fastest growing segment contributing to 50% of deal volume, according to EY’s 12th M&E Capital Confidence Barometer.

     

    According to EY (eka Ernst & Young), the Indian telecom ecosystem will present a further boost for digital adoption in the country. For instance, India is set to exceed 200 million smartphone users by 2016, toppling the US as the world’s second largest smartphone market. The impending launch of 4G services is also expected to create a surge in broadband adoption.

     

    More importantly, India is far more receptive to foreign M&E content and investment than other Asian countries. Additionally, India also has the largest box office attendance, 160 million pay-TV households and publishes 94,000 newspapers, making it of particular interest for companies looking to invest in the country.

     

    Looking ahead, market consolidation, portfolio diversification, market entry and digitisation are expected to drive deal activity in India as M&E companies seek to gain presence across the value chain.

     

    The survey conducted by EY of more than 1,600 senior executives, of which 70 respondents were from M&E companies, in more than 60 countries conducted by EY for the 12th Global Capital Confidence Barometer shows that confidence in the global economy among the world’s leading media and entertainment (M&E) companies is at its highest point since the global financial crisis. This wave of confidence is fueling their deal pipelines and creating an expected record number of mergers and acquisitions.

     

    Other global key findings include:

    > Executives remain confident in key economic indicators and the performance of their businesses. Eighty-two percent are confident in corporate earnings; 76%, credit availability; 76%, short-term market stability; and 44%, equity valuations and stock market outlook.

     

    > The greatest economic risks to media and entertainment businesses are political instability, 39%; volatility in commodities and currencies, 27%; slowing growth in key emerging markets, 13%; economic situation in the Eurozone, 11%; regulatory environment, 9%; and deflation, 1%.

     

    > Despite the high level of confidence in the global economy, cost cutting ranked highest (34%) when executives were asked to list areas of focus in their boardroom, followed by acquisitions, 25%; changing commodity prices, 22%; returning cash to shareholders, 13%; and strategic divestment, 6%.

     

    > The top markets in which companies will be most likely to invest are China, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Australia and the United States.

     

    EY’s Global Capital Confidence Barometer is a biannual survey of more than 1,600 senior executives from large companies around the world and across industry sectors.

     

  • Sucessive governments, including and in some cases especially those of the Congress, have in the past tried to muffle critical voices, writes Ranjona Banerji

    Ranjona Banerji: Defending journalists’ right to live

    By Ranjona Banerji:

     

    There is a point of view, understandably er, Hindutva rightwing, that journalists, liberals, intellectuals, academics and “secular” individuals are just making too much of a fuss about the sudden voice found by “fringe elements” of the Sangh Parivar, after the Narendra Modi government came to power at the Centre.

     

    After all, and this is true, successive government, including and in some cases especially those of the Congress, have in the past tried to muffle critical voices. The sedition charges brought against cartoonist Aseem Trivedi by the Maharashtra government during the India Against Corruption is a very good example of that. Also the banning of Javier Moro’s book on Sonia Gandhi. You can add to the list the fact that rationalist Narendra Dabholkar was killed in Pune during Congress rule and the police drew a blank there. And that writer and scholar MM Kalburgi was killed in Karnataka which is a Congress-ruled state.

     

    However, there is no justification in copying someone else’s daft behaviour, having criticised it while you were in opposition. Also, there is the question of who threatened the lives of Dabholkar and Kalburgi and who has been arrested for the murder of Communist leader Govind Pansare. And then there is nowhere to run for supporters of the Hindutva rightwing. The space for intelligent or even reasoned discussion becomes limited when murder enters the equation. The Hindutva rightwing is fond of attacking Islamic fundamentalism and Islamists and Muslims in general all day and all night on social media but clearly are unable (or unwilling) to acknowledge that murdering those against their tenets is as reprehensible. Once that happens, we are fed the justifications. The Islamist terrorists who killed the cartoonists and employees of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo were wrong but killing Pansare, Dabholkar and Kalburgi is correct?

     

    Their so-called crimes? Questioning the practice of idol worship, blind superstition and pushing forward a rationalist agenda. All of which are still legal in this nation.

     

    In the Pansare murder, the spotlight has fallen on the group Sanatan Sanstha. According to the police, the suspects had also threatened journalists Shyamsundar Sonnar and Nikhil Wagle. Sonnar for rationalist views and his interpretations of Sant Tukaram’s teachings and Wagle of course has long been a target for his refusal to be cowed down, in spite of all the vicious hatred he has been subjected to, with a lot of help it must sadly be said, from his colleagues. While Sonar has filed a police complaint and requested security, Wagle has refused anything that will hamper his journalistic activities.

     

    As media people, most will stand with both Sonnar and Wagle but there will always be some specimens, particularly within the Marathi journalism fraternity. There is a particular sort of venom here which I am unable to understand. You can disagree with someone’s values, with the way they practise their craft even. But secretly approving of harm and death seems a bit, well extreme. There are many journalists I myself don’t like much and some very prominent ones, but I will defend to the end their right to live!

     

    This article in Mumbai Mirror, by the way, explains the irrationality of the Hindutva supporter: http://www.mumbaimirror.com/mumbai/cover-story/We-had-requested-him-warned-him-but-he-didnt-stop/articleshow/49039957.cms

     

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    With sustained media, social media and public pressure the UP police managed to arrest the man who had been threatening the women journalists of Khabar Lahariya. Although this story from scroll.in says that the man is unrepentant, he is at least in jail by now. If only, though, police would take harassment charges more seriously. If this the way journalists, who have some influence, are treated, we all know how the common man or woman is dismissed by the police and government authorities…

    http://scroll.in/article/756664/man-who-harassed-up-women-journalists-for-months-is-finally-caught-and-hes-unrepentant