MxMIndia

Category: TV

  • The integrated business newsroom will comprise CNBC-TV18, CNBC Awaaz, CNBC-TV18 Prime HD, and Moneycontrol.com. Also, Latha Venkatesh and Menaka Doshi elevated as Executive Editors, CNBC-TV18

    Senthil Chengalvarayan appointed Editor-in-Chief for Network18 integrated business newsroom

    By A Correspondent

     

    Senthil Chengalvarayan

    Network18 Group has announced the setting up of ‘Network18 Business Newsroom’, an integrated newsroom comprising its market leading broadcast and digital news outlets in the business media space, under the leadership of Senthil Chengalvarayan. CNBC-TV18, CNBC Awaaz, CNBC-TV18 Prime HD and Moneycontrol.com will now function as part of this larger editorial set-up. This follows the appointment of Shereen Bhan as the Managing Editor for CNBC-TV18.

     

    The newsroom will act as a common hub to ensure seamless broadcast and digital synergies from both a newsgathering and output perspective across these brands, which cumulatively attract over 40 million viewers and 15 million unique visitors on an average every month. In this new capacity, Mr Chengalvarayan will work closely with R Jagannathan, Editor-In-Chief of Network18’s web and publishing stable which includes Moneycontrol.com, Sanjay Pugalia, Editor-In-Chief, CNBC Awaaz and the editorial heads at CNBC-TV18.

     

    Menaka Doshi

    In a concurrent development, the editorial leadership team at CNBC-TV18 has been strengthened further with senior editors Menaka Doshi and Latha Venkatesh elevated as Executive Editors and also given charge for key verticals at the Network18 Business Newsroom. At the Newsroom, Menaka has been assigned the mandate to lead corporate reportage, law and associated areas and Latha Venkatesh will take charge of the Banking and Financial Markets vertical.

     

    Speaking on this development, Raghav Bahl, Founder & Editor, Network18 said “As the country’s leading broadcast and digital player in business news, we are well-positioned to re-define the category in the context of a converging media landscape. The Network18 Business Newsroom is designed to capitalize on the deep engagement and trust our iconic brands enjoy. We are confident that the editorial leadership team under Senthil’s guidance will be able to craft a new paradigm in business media”

     

    Latha Venkatesh

    Commenting on this, B.Sai Kumar, Group CEO, Network18 sai:d “In Senthil, Menaka and Latha, we have the most trusted voices in business journalism today and we believe that they will bring their deep expertise and insights to bear at the Newsroom”

     

    Added Mr Chengalvarayan, Editor-In-Chief, Network18 Business Newsroom: “We pioneered business news on television and the web in India and the newsroom is a natural extension of our successful journey. It’ll ensure that each of our brands access the best editorial expertise across the group while they continue to fulfill their distinct editorial propositions. And they’ll do so through a structure that capitalizes on the new realities in the media landscape.”

     

  • The big advertisers and media agencies are on a warpath against broadcasters who’ve opted for monthly release of TAM numbers

    Why monthly TV measurement data is a no-go

     

    By Johnson Napier

     

    The move by a host of television networks who have subscribed to the arbitrary move of consuming data from TAM on a monthly basis is not boding well with those who put in the monies to fuel the broadcast business – the advertisers. Those that stand most affected by this move include the advertisers and a few media agency houses who have labelled this move as being confusing in nature. Where the world is shifting to sourcing data on real-time basis, moving to a monthly option seems to be redundant move, is the argument.

     

    See alsoSam Balsara, Srinivasan K Swamy & Ashish Bhasin

     

    As broadcasters brace themselves for the offensive from advertisers, MxMIndia quizzes a few top bosses to gather their POV. Many of those who we spoke to refused to go on record. Since most of them have similar views, we aren’t publishing them, except one leading FMCG marketer.

     

    Mayank Shah, Group Product Manager, Parle Products

    It’s surprising to see TAM imparting to data delivery on a monthly basis to certain broadcast networks. It isn’t the ideal way to be doing that because as marketers when we look at releasing campaigns there is a periodic assessment that we have to carry out whether it is for a period of one week or four weeks or more. Also, recency of data is another factor that is crucial to us marketers. We cannot rely on data that is almost a month old; the data will become almost outdated for us if were to sit to analyse the impact that our campaigns managed to create in the marketplace. In fact the advertisers have indeed reacted to this news and have expressed their disappointment on the same. Worldwide where most countries are turning to real-time data that is revealed largely on a daily basis, it is strange to be thinking of delivering data on a monthly basis. Even the weekly data that is being released is kind of late in a sense for us. If we do not see any consensus evolving from the industry and the various stakeholders on the issue soon, we would be forced to relook our spends on the medium of television, especially for players who have opted for data being revealed to them on a monthly basis. We will wait and assess the situation accordingly.

     

    Shashi Sinha, CEO, IPG Mediabrands (also Chairman of the BARC Technical Committee)

    If you see the outcome of the decision, around 100-odd channels have opted for data to be released on a monthly basis. And the rest are still with the weekly set-up. Now we cannot be operating in an environment like this; there needs to be a unilateral measurement outcome that should be followed by all. Also, as is being observed the world over most countries are increasingly moving to collating data on a daily basis while we are moving the other way round. The solution can be found if all interested parties sit down and discuss. Till now there have been no concrete discussions as yet. So it’s a bit of an arbitrary situation to be in right now and one cannot say what will happen next.

     

    In fact the way the decision was taken was very abrupt. Instead of just coming to a decision on their own they should have discussed the matter with all. As an industry body we tried to reach out to them to try and sort the matter. We even proposed a few solutions but they were not accepted. So there is a counter-action taking place right now as advertisers are not happy with this decision. What the clients are looking at right now is clarity and openness on the matter. It is up to the advertisers and broadcasters to sort the matter amicably.

     

    CVL Srinivas, CEO, Group M South Asia

    We see this as an extremely regressive development. India is one of the few markets where TV ratings are reported with a one week lag. Most other markets have daily ratings. In our view that is the direction we need to take. By moving to monthly rating, in one stroke we are making television as a medium less accountable to advertisers.

     

    FMCG marketer, New Delhi

    It’s not that we do not understand that there are some flaws with the current television measurement but we’ve survived it for over a decade, and none of the advertisers complain of having made wrong decisions due to incorrect ratings. I agree that broadcasters have been driven up the wall due to a bad market, digitization, LC1 and the 10+2 ad cap, but that doesn’t mean that they change the rules of the game when all of us have jointly decided to set up BARC and deliberate over a new measurement regime that will be effective in 2014. Broadcasters need to understand that just as they are facing hard times, we too don’t have excess money. Marketing heads are answerable to their CEOs/country heads who in turn have to answer to their boards in India or abroad. Monthly data is a no-go, even as we understand the importance of stable data.

     

  • The former ECD at Contract will be responsible for creating multi-platform campaigns for the assets led by him.

    Juju Basu joins Star India as Creative Communication Head for new business verticals

    Juju Basu

    Star India has appointed Juju Basu as Creative Communication Head for new business verticals, including its sports properties. Mr Basu will be responsible for creating multi-platform campaigns for the assets led by him.

     

    Prior to joining Star, he was Senior Vice President and Executive Creative Director at Contract Advertising. Mr Basu has had successful stints with Grey Worldwide and Saatchi & Saatchi and he was on the jury of the Direct Lions at the recently held Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival. “His vast experience will strengthen Star India’s efforts to create an unparalleled resource pool within the network by appointing talented professionals from diverse business domains,” noted a Star India statement.

     

    “After a rather long stint in the advertising world, I decided to focus my creative efforts on content. Star, with its rich canvas of content and its appetite for innovation, offers a great opportunity to further strengthen the creative foundations I built during my years in advertising,” said Mr Basu.

     

    Mr Basu began as an art intern straight after high school. Grey’s Kolkata office was his training ground and he’s still learning a new trick every day. After stints at Grey Kolkata, Colombo and Mauritius, he moved to the agency’s Mumbai office. Winning local metals regularly, he was a part of the Young Creative team representing India.

     

    As Creative Director at Saatchi’s Mumbai office for five years, he saw more local and international awards, including Cannes Lions, D&AD, the One Show and the Asia Pacific Adfest. At Contract’s Gurgaon office, he worked with Domino’s and NIIT.

     

  • IBN7 takes on a fresh look from today (July 15) in an attempt to add value to advertisers, sponsors, etc

    IBN7 repositions, dons new look

    By A Correspondent

     

    Network18’s Hindi news channel IBN7 is sporting a new look with effect from today. In a communiqué sent out to the media on Saturday, the effort is to enhance the channel’s news content and positioning.

     

    As part of the refreshed look-and-feel, IBN7 has gone in for a new logo and a new tagline – Bebaq.Bekhauf – which, the communiqué adds, is a “logical continuation of the earlier tagline ‘Khabar – Har keemat Par’ that reflects the channel’s approach to covering news”

     

    A new campaign to promote the channel is also being unveiled. Themed Nidar. Atal. Prachand. Satya., the campaign defines IBN7 as a channel which is fearless (nidar), accurate (atal), impactful (prachand), and truthful (satya).

     

    Although TAM does not release the numbers of individual channels, according to information available to MxMIndia, IBN7 has been ranking #6 as per TAM ratings over the last five weeks (CS 15+ AB in the Hindi-speaking markets). Aaj Tak leads the list followed by ABP News, India TV, Zee News, NDTV India and then IBN7. Given the Network18 pedigree in news and CNN-IBN’s status amongst English news channels, it has indeed been a surprise that IBN7 is way down the ladder. Some media analysts, Hindi news TV-watchers and former staffers we spoke with attribute the failure to innovate and adapt to market trends as the primary reasons for this. There is also an issue of distribution of the channel.

     

    While attempts to reach the channel spokesperson over the weekend failed, the quotes handed out in a press release are as follows:

    Rajdeep Sardesai, Editor-in-Chief, CNN-IBN, IBN7 and IBN-Lokmat: “We are delighted to announce the new look of the channel. With the new logo and the revamped look, we intend to enhance the brand recall and continue with our vision to deliver quality news and programming which will have a positive impact on our viewers.”

     

    Ashutosh, Managing Editor, IBN7: “The revamped look of the channel celebrates many glorious years of bringing the untold truth to our viewers. The move is aimed to reiterate the channel’s vision and philosophy and convey its message in a firm manner.”

     

    Sanjay Dua, CEO, Network18 Media: “The defining value of IBN7 which projects fearlessness, boldness and an unbiased approach will now reflect in the channel’s everyday reporting. India’s Channel of Impact, with its refined positioning, will continue to stand out from the rest.”

     

    Dilip Venkatraman, CEO, IBN7: “We are excited about the energies that the new logo, look, tagline and campaign are able to add to IBN7 and we are sure these will add considerable value to all our stakeholders, especially our advertising clients, sponsors, media agencies and other partners.”

     

  • Zee Entertainment will be presenting corporate partner of the ninth edition of the Kyoorius Designyatra to be held in Goa from August 29-31.

    Zee is presenting partner of Kyoorius Designyatra conference

    By A Correspondent

     

    Leading fine paper provider and design evangelist Kyoorius announced that the 2013 edition of its annual conference Kyoorius Designyatra will have Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) as the presenting corporate partner.

     

    In its ninth edition, Kyoorius Designyatra 2013 will be held in Goa over three days from August 29 to 31 and likely to be attended by over 1350 delegates including design professionals,creative and art directors, marketing heads, brand heads and students. Rajesh Kejriwal, CEO & Co-Founder of Kyoorius says “attendance from ‘clients’ has consistently grown and we anticipate about 300 senior professionals this year.”*

     

    The theme for the 2013 edition is ‘Create Change’ which will push the envelope and challenge creative professionals to use design as a tool to create real change – change that’s beyond the aesthetic. Inspire them to defy convention and use design as a tool to create real impact – connecting with the audience visually and emotionally.

     

    Meanwhile, Zee and Kyoorius have also announced the launch of IAA Kyoorius Digiyatra in association with International Association of Advertisers (India Chapter).

     

    Digiyatra will be held on the first day of the three day conference – 29th August and will feature some of the world’s best and most influential professionals from global social media giant Facebook to innovative digital marketers and designers to showcase where ‘digital’ is truly going. The day will be dedicated to building online platforms, experiences and content for consumer engagement.

     

    This year’s Designyatra and Digiyatra will feature speakers including Tim Greenhalgh – Global CCO at Fitch, Margret Stewart – Director of Product Design at Facebook, Elizabeth McGuane – Content Strategy Director at LBi London, Jessica Walsh- Partner at Sagmeister & Walsh, KV ‘Pops’ Sridhar – CCO at Leo Burnett India and Subcontinent, Karin Fong – Director at Imaginary Forces, Natasha Jen – Partner at Pentagram, Laura Jordan Bambach from Dare UK, amongst many others.

     

    Said Bharat Ranga, Chief Content and Creative Officer at Zee: “Kyoorius Designyatra has always been a brilliant platform for connecting with the communicators of India, creating inspiration and fueling growth and change. We are glad to come on board as Kyoorius’ corporate partner and support the development of creativity in marketing and communications for the nation – communication that can make a real difference.”

     

    Added Srinivasan K Swamy, President, IAA – India Chapter, “IAA has been focused on ‘digital’ side of communication business where we see a vacuum in knowledge. The IAA Kyoorious Digiyatra has shaped up well and I am sure the delegates are in for a great learning experience.”

     

    *Disclosure: MxMIndia is partnering the Kyoorius Designyatra 2013

     

  • Aidem Ventures will take charge of all-India sales of the Aamoda Broadcasting Network-run Telugu channel ABN Andhrajyothy

    ABN Andhrajyothy mandates Aidem for ad sales

    By A Correspondent

     

    ABN Andhrajyothy, a leading 24-hour Telugu news channel, has appointed Aidem Ventures as its ad sales partner.

     

    The Aamoda Broadcasting Network-run Telugu channel ABN Andhrajyothy also publishes Telugu newspaper Andhrajyothy since a decade. The TV channel was launched on October 15, 2009.

     

    Vemuri Radhakrishna
    Alok Rakshit

    “We have a very strong foothold in the local market and we feel that this is the right time to expand our ad sales operations pan-India. With Aidem’s expertise, established network and relationship with clients and agencies pan India, we are confident that it will strengthen our growth strategy of taking channel revenues to the next level,” said Vemuri Radhakrishna, Managing Director of ABN Andhrajyothy.

     

    “‘Among the southern states, Andhra Pradesh has the largest number of dedicated news channels, apart from having the highest cable TV penetration. Being one of the leading news channels in the market, we feel privileged to be signing ABN Andhrajyothy’s all-India sales mandate,” said Alok Rakshit, Business Head, Regional Entertainment and News, Aidem Ventures.

     

  • AAAI goes on offensive, says advertisers left with no option but to cancel activity on 8 broadcast groups

    AAAI goes on offensive, says advertisers left with no option but to cancel activity on 8 broadcast groups

    By A Correspondent

     

    Arvind Sharma

    In what appears to be a clear offensive against broadcasters, the Advertising Agencies Association of India issued a statement on on the current impasse on Television Audience Measurement. Said Arvind Sharma, President of the AAAI: “For fourteen years, TAM has been the TV Audience measurement system in the country. It has been the currency on the basis of which advertising planning, buying and selling have been conducted. We all agree that this measurement system needs to evolve. That is the common goal towards which broadcasters, advertisers and advertising agencies came together to create Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC). BARC will take 10 months or so to start generating its audience measurement data. In the meantime, however, if individual broadcasters try to force unilateral changes in the current system, as some have tried, it will result in a disorderly and hybrid measurement system. It will become impossible for advertising agencies and advertisers to plan and therefore, buy TV spots. In this scenario, it is natural for advertisers to begin to question the value of advertising in this medium at all. Cancellation of TV releases by many advertisers on eight network groups that have insisted on unilateral changes is a natural outcome of that. More clients are following”.

     

    The statement adds: AAAI believes that any change in the TV measurement system needs to be thought through and to have support from all the three industry constituents – Broadcasters, Advertisers and Advertising Agencies. “We continue to be firmly of the belief that dialogue among all constituents is essential for evolving the system. We remain open to discussions, as always. However, this does require similar openness across all constituents. We will continue to work towards a dialogue,” said Arvind Sharma.

     

  • Discovery Networks which had reportedly written to TAM to switch to monthly reporting of data is now said to have communicated to the measurement agency asking for a revert to the weekly format.

    Discovery asks TAM to revert to weekly ratings

    By Chaitanya Rathod

     

    In what is being termed a significant development and possibly a crack in the solidarity of the broadcasters on the television measurement issue, Discovery Networks is said to have communicated to the measurement agency asking for a revert to the weekly format. The network had written to TAM recently to switch to monthly reporting of data for three channels.

     

    Though we could not reach the Discovery or TAM spokespersons for comment, the news has been confirmed to us by a reliable industry source.

     

    As is known a slew of advertisers have sent 72-hour notices to broadcasters asking for their ads to pulled given the insistence that TAM publish measurement data for the channels only once a month.

     

  • While the ministry must’ve been compelled to refer the matter to the Press Council of India in the absence of a TRAI-like body, it ought to know that one can't really expect any significant and progressive recommendations from the Council.

    1 Minute View: Goodness gracious! Government asks Press Council for views on FDI cap on print!!!

    Ha ha ha ha. Hahahahahaha. Ha ha ha ha ha. Ha ha ha ha. Hahahahahaha. Ha ha ha ha ha.

    Ha ha ha ha. Hahahahahaha. Ha ha ha ha ha. Ha ha ha ha. Hahahahahaha. Ha ha ha ha ha.

     

    Sorry about the excessive laughter, but the only way to describe our state of being is to use the term that one uses in smses or instant messengers: ROTFL. Rolling on the floor laughing.

     

    There is indeed reason to cry wtf. The ministry of information and broadcasting has asked the Press Council for its recommendation on the foreign direct investment cap in print. It has also done the same for television where it has referred the FDI cap matter to regulator TRAI.

     

    But by its various acts, the Press Council of India is hardly a regulator of any standing (and teeth). It’s got a retired Chief Justice at the helm whose outbursts tell us what makes him so outstanding and a bunch of members whose role in the report on paid news some years back was indeed questionable.

     

    While the ministry must’ve been compelled to refer the matter to the Press Council of India in the absence of a TRAI-like body, it ought to know that one can’t really expect any significant and progressive recommendations from the Council.

     

    Sad.

     

  • A compromise is imminent by getting broadcasters and advertisers to agree to a weekly ratings release and CPT as the currency

    Broadcasters-advertisers bhai-bhai?!

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    Frenetic activity has been on to hammer out an amicable and workable solution to the television measurement imbroglio.

     

    While advertisers are adamant, broadcasters who MxMIndia spoke to, also believe that the environment is much in favour of a settlement. “The market’s bad and a withdrawal of any advertising will be like the final nail on the coffin,” said the sales head of one of the networks. “Also, it’s not just the seven broadcast networks which will suffer, the entire television sector will go down.”

     

    But a back channel has been initiated and a compromise is imminent. A senior employee of a network who is not a participant of the discussions informed that one thinking is to get broadcasters to agree to weekly ratings and advertisers to accept CPT. The debate will be on niche and news channels. While broadcasters insist on monthly issue of numbers, advertisers don’t want any of that. “I don’t belong to a news channel, but why don’t they agree to a middle-ground like fortnightly release for news and niche players,” said the employee.

     

    An industry analyst is hopeful of a compromise because broadcasters have traditionally wanted a more frequent release of numbers, in fact at one time they even desired a daily release. Also, CPT is a proposition made by advertisers and media agencies in the first place.

     

    What’s important is that all parties must sit together agree to either work with the BARC technical committee or set up an interim joint industry committee/body.

     

    “Any further loss of time will cause much damage to the entire broadcast sector as people have already started weighing the efficacy of the medium over others,” a senior broadcaster told MxMIndia.

     

  • Reliance Broadcast Network Ltd's Hindi GEC Big Magic is keen to dominate the entire Hindi speaking market by inking arrangements with cable networks and DTH companies

    RBNL expands Big Magic footprint across HSMs

    By A Correspondent

     

    It started off as an entertainment channel for the Hindi heartland pockets in central, northern and eastern India. After having tasted some success, it started a localized channel for Bihar and Jharkhand. And, now, the channel is extending its footprint across what’s known as the Hindi-speaking Market.

     

    In order to do this, it has entered into arrangement with key cable networks and DTH players across the regions reaching out to 123 mn households across the HSMs.

     

    Speaking on the occasion, Sunil Kumaran, Business Head, Language TV said, “Over the last two years, Big Magic has built itself into a powerful regional brand with a loyal audience base. While we invested in building a strong brand, we are now ready to take it to its next level of growth and reach. The timing couldn’t be more perfect with Phase @ of digitization pointing at an opportunity to reach our content to millions of Indians. Our robust distribution network and insight-backed programming ensures we offer audiences an entertainment avenue that will resonate excellently with them.”

     

    The channel was launched in April 2011 and has a mainstream Hindi GEC-like content mix with family dramas, sitcoms crime shows, reality shows, weekend movies et al.

     

    While the channel proposes an extensive multiple media marketing push, the effort is to evolve into the bigger league. Reliance Broadcast Network is banking big on the complete roll-out of Phase 2 of digitization and later the final phase for growing the Big Magic franchise.

     

    Meanwhile, viewers in Bihar and Jharkhand will continue to receive both the local and national feeds of Big Magic.

  • Anirudh Maheshwari, Shweta Arora and Brijesh Tanna join Reliance Broadcast Network to head key functions with channels

    RBNL fills three top slots for sales and C&C

    By A Correspondent

     

    Reliance Broadcast Network Limited (RBNL) has announced three key appointments in its television business. These include:

    Anirudh Maheshwari

    Anirudh Maheshwari – appointed National Sales Head for Language TV at Reliance Broadcast. In his new role, Mr Maheshwari, who has had a rich past in the financial services sector, will be responsible for key decision-making in the area of sales, and growing the business for the now-turning-near-national Big Magic and Spark Punjabi. Some of the organizations he has been part of include Citibank, ICICI Prudential Life, Standard Chartered Bank and Xerox. He will be reporting to Sunil Kumaran, Business Head – Language TV.

     

    Speaking about his appointment, Mr Maheshwari said, “I look forward to taking up this challenging role and working towards ensuring that the channel grows consistently towards leadership positions in this space.”

     

    Shweta Arora

    The second appointment is that of Shweta Arora has been appointed National Sales Head, BIG CBS. Ms Arora will be heading the sales function for Big CBS Networks and will be leading the charge for planning and driving the sales strategy nationally to increase marketshare and revenues for Big CBS. Like Mr Maheshwari, she too isn’t from the broadcast sector. She joins RBNL from ING Vysya Bank where she served as Associate Business Head – North, for the bank’s private banking division. She has worked with Citibank, Kotak and ABN Amro Bank. Interestingly, Ms Arora has also had a four-year stint with the hospitality industry when she worked with the Taj group of hotels.

     

    On her appointment, Ms Arora said, “My agenda will be to utilize the company’s core strengths and built long-term partnerships with new and existing clients, while making the brand experience more enjoyable.”

     

    Brijesh Tanna

    And the third appointment is that of Brijesh Tanna who is appointed Head of Content and Communications for Big CBS channels. He will lead the mandates of Content, Brand Solutions, OAP (on air promotions), and Marketing among other areas. The former Senior Producer for Star India has also served as Associate Vice-President, Content Development & Head Entertainment Commissioning for Astro Malaysia.

     

    Mr Tanna, who has been recognised for his work at NY Festivals, Promax World and Promax Asia, is looking forward to his new role at RBNL. “The company is looking to expand its reach and increase its much-respected offerings. This presents a massive opportunity for a challenging career,” he said.