MxMIndia

Tag: Comedy Central

  • Curates special lineup of popular shows to make April fun

    Comedy Central unveils its #HappyPlace special programming

    By A Correspondent

     

    Comedy Central has curated ‘Quaran-binge’ which will air a marathon lineup of popular shows such as shows Two and Half Men, Mom, Superstore, Mike & Molly and Impractical Jokers, all the way till April 14th.

     

    Commenting on the incredible line up, Hashim D’souza – Head of Programming, English Entertainment, Viacom18 said: “Recording its highest ever rating and claiming a market share of 77 per cent, Viacom18’s English Cluster has positioned itself as the viewers primary destination to curb away boredom this quarantine. The channels continue to be at full throttle airing the most enjoyed shows around the globe for the Indian audience. Continuing this stride, Comedy Central India is gearing up to bring more of such shows that promise high acclaim. With the current situation of quarantine, we wanted to ensure uninterrupted entertainment for our audience with multiple marathons with ‘Quaran-binge’. With a broad array of shows that both inspire and entertain, there is something for everyone to watch.”

     

     

  • This tongue-in-cheek campaign has been created by Tilt Brand Solutions

    Comedy Central alerts viewers to vote via #ChooserNotLoser campaign

    By A Correspondent

     

    On the occasion of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Comedy Central has launched a campaign that depicts different scenarios, unified by a single message which reminds citizens to cast their vote, lest somebody else makes a choice on their behalf.

     

    This tongue-in-cheek campaign, #ChooserNotLoser has been created by Tilt Brand Solutions and produced by Tilt Studios.

     

    Commenting on the campaign, Ferzad Palia, Head – Youth, Music & English Entertainment, Viacom18, said: “India is a young country, with nearly 15 million voters newly eligible for the upcoming general elections. Being a responsible brand that appeals and resonates with the country’s youth as well as other age-groups, Comedy Central adopted an approach that’s synonymous with its spirit to evangelize the importance of each vote. Driving the message through cleverly curated videos with a comic narrative yet an underlining powerful call to action, we hope to influence every citizen to go out and exercise their right to vote.”

     

    Added Shriram Iyer, Chief Creative & Content Officer, Tilt Brand Solutions: “The idea #ChooserNotLoser, coupled with three quirky scripts deserved an execution that’s both thought-provoking and humorous, given it’s after all a message from Comedy Central. The three sketches depict the significance of making one’s own choice by dramatizing the repercussions of not exercising it. A wakeup call to take a step towards the polling booths.”

     

     

  • Colors Infinity to showcase over 1100 hours of fresh content

    Colors Infinity, Comedy Central to air on Jio TV

    By A Correspondent

     

    Colors Infinity has announced its plans to make a significant foray in digital with a multi-platform experience concurrently to an additional 250 million subscribers of Jio TV.

     

    Said Ferzad Palia, Head – Youth, Music and English Entertainment, Viacom18: “In a very short span of time, Colors Infinity has come a long way, unthwarted by the challenging environ in English entertainment. Aiming to continuously meet the expectations of our current viewers, while attracting new viewers at the same time, we’ve boldly experimented with our programming. This radical approach has established a distinct identity for the brand, which endorses our leadership position in the category. Proud to be a truly multi-platform brand, we are now making Colors Infinity and Comedy Central available for simultaneous viewing on Jio TV. A significant growth in the advertiser base and revenue, is testament to our solid performance.”

     

     

  • He will be taking on this new role in addition to his existing duties as the head of English Entertainment at Viacom18 which includes channels such as Vh1, Comedy Central and the recently launched Colors Infinity

    Ferzad Palia to also head MTV and Pepsi MTV Indies

    By A Correspondent

     

    Ferzad Palia

    Viacom18 has announced the appointment of Ferzad Palia as Head of Youth Entertainment with immediate effect. In his new role, Palia will head the MTV and the indie platform Pepsi MTV Indies. He will be taking on this new role in addition to his existing duties as the head of English Entertainment at Viacom18 which includes channels such as Vh1, Comedy Central and the recently launched Colors Infinity.

     

    Speaking about Palia’s appointment in this new role, Sudhanshu Vats, Group CEO, Viacom18 said, “Appointing Ferzad as the head of Youth Entertainment, along with being a logical move for us – considering his extensive experience in broadcast, is also a strategic one as we drive further synergies between Youth Entertainment and English Entertainment. Ferzad has been instrumental in transforming the English Entertainment landscape in India with Vh1, Comedy Central and Colors Infinity and I’m sure he will take both MTV and Pepsi MTV Indies to new heights of success.”

     

    Expressing his pleasure regarding his new role, Palia said: “MTV, is an iconic brand and it’s my pleasure to have been appointed to take it further on its journey to success. Pepsi MTV Indies with its pulse on the indie subculture in India has been a key driver of change and I’m really looking forward to working closely with the team on it. It’s a new and exciting role for me and I’m really looking forward to creating interesting brand customizations for the youth demographic while driving growth for both, youth and English entertainment brands at Viacom18.”

     

  • The channel is promoting its new show 'Threesome' through a partnership with frozen yogurt brand Cocoberry

    Comedy Central ties-up with Cocoberry for Threesome

    By A Correspondent

     

    Comedy Central has announced that it will be promoting its new show ‘Threesome’ through a partnership with leading frozen yogurt brand Cocoberry. With the purchase of every three Cocoberry cups, consumers get a free voucher that contains not one but three Cocoberry coupons in it. One of these coupons is for a free Cup while two coupons are for 50% discount on the bill value. The limited offer will be available across few select outlets of Cocoberry in Mumbai and Delhi starting July 18 till August 14, 2013

     

    Commenting on this initiative, Ferzad Palia, Senior VP and GM – English Entertainment, Viacom 18 Media Pvt. Ltd: says, “At Comedy Central, we believe in innovation, whether it’s content or brand marketing. We thought Cocoberry is a good brand association for our new show ‘Threesome’ as both have the same objective – to spread smiles.”

     

    Said Rahul Deans, CEO, Cocoberry: We are delighted to be associated with Comedy Central, as we see a good fit between their viewers and our customers.”

     

  • Robert Bakish, President & CEO, Viacom International Media Networks and Sai Kumar, Group CEO, Network 18, tell MxMIndia what's making the network surge ahead

    Jaldi 5 with Robert Bakish & Sai Kumar: It’s fair to say that we have a pipeline

    Robert Bakish
    Sai Kumar

    Most of their broadcast products in India attained leadership position in the genre that they operate in. In recent years, some of them have managed to attain that in record time like the Hindi GEC Colors or English comedy channel Comedy Central.

     

    Viacom has had a fantastic innings in India thus far and much of that growth has been possible due to its win-win partnership with entertainment hotshop Network 18 in India.

     

    On the sidelines of FICCI Frames 2013, MxM India caught up with Robert Bakish, President & CEO, Viacom International Media Networks and Sai Kumar, Group CEO, Network 18 to find out what’s making the network surge ahead in India and what’s in store next. Excerpts:

     

    01.  With Viacom being a major player, what is your top-level view of the content business that exists in India?

    Robert Bakish: Like most things there are some common elements and there are some unique elements where content is concerned. Generally speaking, it’s about creating content that an Indian consumer is very engaged with. They could be watching their content anywhere, so in that sense the dynamics remain the same. The next end is funded partially through advertising and distribution and through consumer products. Now some of the specifics to India are different. Today everybody is talking about digitization and that’s a seismic shift in the television distribution marketplace in India, which quite frankly has been a long time coming. This has been a market where you have to pay for distribution where you really didn’t get paid. In most markets around the world on that basis they are making a lot of money from distribution. So we look forward to the day that happened in India and thankfully it’s happening now. So that’s one big unique element and that’s certainly to the benefit of leading content companies. So unless you have very strong content and brains you may not be able to do that and that’s what Viacom 18 is in a good position at.

     

    Another thing about this market is that there are many countries within India itself. These are still early days for exploitation by major content companies like us but there are tremendous opportunities ahead.

     

    In a sense you are going to have many countries in the Viacom 18 umbrella itself given Hindi and the various languages under ETV. So you do not have to look elsewhere for refashioning content in other languages…

    Robert Bakish: One of the advantages of Viacom 18 being a global company is that we can cast a very wide net for hit content in terms of format etc. But at the same time we can focus on the Indian market whether it is something that came out of our national set of services or may be some regional opportunity… or maybe from Eenadu with which we are still doing some regulatory diligence but there are already some national formats that are travelling to regional it’s only a matter of time before some regional format moves over to become national on Colors and maybe even exported to the US, the UK, Middle east etc. So there’s pretty broad opportunity that exists there.

     

    02.  Like you’ve said, Colors and the regional channels have had some successful content to their credit. Are you looking at taking that content and repurposing that for airing in international markets?

    Sai Kumar: That has already started whereby content from Colors is now available across 130 countries. That’s pure syndication. Now if you see, syndication is largely for the Indian market oversees. But if you look at the local market we have already started shipping formats. Uttaran has entered Africa as a format so it is going to be completely produced. Now that’s a green shoot that we have seen in the past two months. We are already having conversation around 3-4 of our soaps… so reverse migration has started. By which I don’t mean only syndication, I mean format migration which could be a very healthy revenue line for us.

     

    03.  In terms of revenues, what are the numbers you are expecting post-digitization?

    Sai Kumar: I’ll tell you what our wish-list is: two years down the line we will be happy if Viacom 18 gets about 45 per cent of its revenues from domestic distribution and about 10 per cent of revenues from international distribution…so a range of over 30-60 per cent is what we are looking at over the next two-four years which is something that will change our P&L dramatically. And I dare say that we are on track.

     

    04.  Comedy Central has been a big success in quick time. Are you looking at playing that content across other languages in India?

    Robert Bakish: Comedy Central is our third great global brand behind MTV and Nickelodeon. If you look at the last 12-18 months with Comedy Central, we have not only lit up India but also Russia, South East Asia, Africa, Latin America etc. So Comedy Central is a big deal for us. The brand obviously has a great ability to connect with the consumers all over the world, and obviously the services are different all over the world. So we will be launching additional services in India; we are not going to say what they are going to be but there will be more opportunities.

     

    05.  In terms of new offerings from the Viacom stable, can we look forward to more channel offerings…

    Robert Bakish: We are not here to announce any new products but it would be fair to say that we have a pipeline. From a Viacom standpoint, India is a very important market with a huge potential ahead of it. We know that part of accessing that potential will involve creating more products… we launched a couple of new national products last year including Comedy Central, Sonic etc and it’s safe to assume we will launch additional services in the future.

     

    Robert Bakish (pic source: blog.viacom.com)

     

  • Ferzad Palia, Senior VP and GM – English Entertainment, Viacom 18 Media Pvt Ltd talks to MxMIndia about Comedy Central's acquisition of Charlie Sheen starrer sitcom Anger Management

    Anger Management, a big deal for Comedy Central

    By Johnson Napier

     

    Comedy channel Comedy Central seems to have struck gold by bagging rights to the newest craze on the sitcom block, Anger Management. So impressed was the network with prospects of this new show starring Charlie Sheen, that it went overboard in acquiring rights to the show.

     

    Ferzad Palia, Senior VP and GM – English Entertainment, Viacom 18 Media Pvt Ltd reveals to MxMIndia what would be the implications of this expensive buy and how they expect the sitcom to break some advertising rules in the English entertainment market.

     

    Going by the buzz that’s being created, the acquisition of Anger Management seems to be the biggest thing that has happened for Comedy Central. How far did you stretch yourself into acquiring the rights for this sitcom? And, what was unique about the whole experience?

    When we saw the first 2 episodes of Anger Management at a private screening, we knew that this show is set to be the next big thing on television. We were vindicated when the show broke all ratings records over its first few episodes in the US. It did so well that before we knew it, an unprecedented further 90 episodes were ordered! Charlie Sheen is back… and how! Naturally it was a heavily sought after show. So I must admit that we did need to stretch ourselves to make it happen.

     

    How would you justify the huge spends on the acquisition of this sitcom in a market like India’s that’s still waking up to English entertainment?

    You will be surprised that India isn’t waking up to English language content. It already has woken up. And not just the metros, across the top 40 towns and is penetrating deeper at a rapid pace. English is one of the fastest growing languages in India for a variety of reasons. Comedy Central is here to grow the category with a distinctive offering. And as I’ve always mentioned to you, we’re here for the long term, so this fits in perfectly with our ambitions & plans.

     

    Would you be setting new benchmarks where ad rates for Anger Management are concerned?

    Yes. It’s a great opportunity for brands to co-own this franchise with us for a longer term. We’re looking at ‘partnerships’ for this show. Going beyond the traditional ‘spot buy’ format. There are tremendous opportunities that we have to allow brands to integrate themselves through the next few months. The positive response we’ve received over the last 24 hours since the announcement is extremely encouraging, to put it mildly.

     

    What is the English Comedy entertainment market like in India at the moment?

    We’re extremely happy with the response to Comedy Central India over the last 10 months. We’ve grown the English genre, cut through clutter, received recognition and awards for our brand, content, creative & marketing, have over 100 advertisers on our roster, already the most followed English entertainment channel on Twitter, 8 lakh fans on Facebook, etc, etc… And we’ve only just begun! The market is ripe. And hungry for more, as is clearly evident.

     

    What is the content acquisition plan for Comedy Central going forward into 2013?

    Lots of exciting things in store. None that I can reveal currently though.

     

  • We cannot fully assess if a politician is good or bad until a foreign journalist pops by, talks to a few taxi drivers and Indian journalists and then writes a complimentary (good) or scathing (bad) comment piece

    Ranjona Banerji: Foreign media is only credible observer of Indian politics

    By Ranjona Banerji

     

    There is now only one credible observer of Indian politics – the foreign media in India. We cannot fully assess if a politician is good or bad until a foreign journalist pops by, talks to a few taxi drivers and Indian journalists and then writes a complimentary (good) or scathing (bad) comment piece.

     

    Now, you’re thinking, aha, sour grapes but far from it. It is all a question of perspective. Indian journalists, especially in Delhi, are too close to the centres of power. They are so familiar with what’s going on and party to so many secrets that they now spend more time discussing whether the blue in Manmohan Singh’s turban has changed in the last eight years. (Some say yes, some say no and the rest are fence-sitters.)

     

    The foreign media however comes in from far away and has no clue about all this inner stuff. They attend a few parties (these are vital sources of information and political analysis, as those who read through the diplomatic cables made public by Wikileaks will know), meet a few Indian print journalists (bluer, paler, maybe both), they may meet a few TV journalists but that’s for entertainment since they have no political perspective, although I hear they throw really good dinner parties. And, obviously, the few taxi drivers. This is imperative as every traveller knows – one taxi driver can be equal to at least five other potential interviewees.

     

    Yesterday, I met a cabbie in Mumbai who told me that Indian politics turns on Uttar Pradesh. Now I know. If these foreign political commentators are really smart however, they will never even leave whichever country they come from (usually the USA or the UK). How else have I become a world renowned expert on Barack Obama and David Cameron? (Actually, by watching Comedy Central and Graham Norton.)

     

    Therefore we now know that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is a poodle, useless, confused and steeped in doom and gloom. Everyone has said it from Time to the Economist to The New York Times to the Independent.

     

    The poodle reference can be translated in Indian terms to a puppet. Yes I know, Indian commentators have been saying that for years. But what do they know, eh? (On the other hand, their view has now been authenticated!) Meanwhile I must be off to watch a few more skits on Comedy Central so I can hone my analytical skills.

     

  • Not really, say broadcasters, as they work towards bringing the newest seasons of popular shows

    Is internet killing viewership of English GECs?

     

    By Meghna Sharma

     

    Dying to watch the latest season of Big Bang Theory or want to know who’s going to win the current MasterChef Australia series? Then, you have two options: either download it or wait for a channel to telecast it here.

     

    Of course, many of us opt for the first option as Indian channels still lag in getting the latest seasons of these international shows to India . MxM India explores if the internet is indeed posing a threat to the genre.

     

    Internet, a menace?

    Anurag Bedi

    Consumer trends have changed over the past few years; and if one gets his dose of entertainment, it doesn’t matter it’s on which platform. “The viewer is platform-neutral. So, as far as one gets certain amount of entertainment quotient, it doesn’t matter even if he’s doing it illegally i.e. by downloading. And with the internet reaching out to every nook and corner of the country, it won’t be wrong to say that internet poses a threat to content owners or channels,” explains Karthik Sharma, managing partner, Maxus.

     

    The internet remains the biggest threat to the English general entertainment channels. Most of these channels are not able to telecast various popular international shows like Games of Throne, Weeds, Sherlock and others, hence viewers log online.

     

    Saurabh Yagnik

    “Today, the television audience is experimenting with content. They are quite receptive to exploring new, innovative and unconventional content. Considering the change in lifestyles and the impact of globalization, our audience is more aware than ever. Viewers have the knowledge of the scope of entertainment available on various platforms,” said Anurag Bedi, Business Head, Zee Cafe.

     

    Saurabh Yagnik, GM & senior VP, English Channels, STAR India Pvt. Ltd added: “STAR World’s constant endeavour has been to bring international shows to India , at the same time as their broadcast in US. We, in fact, had the World Television Premier of shows such as Missing, Touch on our channel. Even for Masterchef Australia Season 4, we are broadcasting the show very close to its telecast in Australia this time. This also becomes possible due to our strong and exclusive associations with international production houses such as Disney, Fox, and others.”

     

    Ricky Ow

    On an optimistic note, Ricky Ow, executive VP, Networks, Asia, Sony Pictures Television feels that though the internet adds to the competition, it helps one realize what the market is looking for: “If one studies the internet, then it can definitely turn out to be an asset as it gives us an opportunity to look at what the audience is interested in. For example, it helps us know what the India n audiences’ interests are outside AXN.”

     

    However, the newest entry on the block, Comedy Central’s Ferzad Palia, senior VP and GM – English Entertainment, Viacom 18 Media Pvt Ltd feels that internet should be seen as a complimentary asset rather than just as competition. “With technology, the social mindsets of people are changing too. And now people have become more accepting towards western culture. Thus, it’s good for us as more and more people identify with the content.”

     

    Ferzad Palia

    The buying game

    There is no doubt that the English-language general entertainment market is developing. Almost every channel is trying its level-best to keep the audience hooked on by getting more and more international shows to the living rooms. One question still remains: why are channels not able to show what their TG wants?

     

    “It is difficult to bring popular international shows to India , especially at the same time as their release in other markets. However, we have been driving our efforts to realize this for a long time with our property titled Torrentz, wherein we brought international shows very close to their release in other markets,” said Mr Yagnik.

     

    New channels coming up are giving a tough competition to the likes of Star World, Zee Cafe and AXN. Media professionals feel that, though the competition is good, it can become a burden on English channels as they have a limited TG. This has lead to rise in the cost of procuring rights. So, if a channel is paying more for an acquisition of shows which are popular abroad, they might not be able to recover money as mass channels do.

     

    Mr Ow added that though it cannot be categorized as easy or difficult, the onset of more channels has definitely risen the costs: “If we want a show, we try our level best to get it. AXN’s programming formula is simple – we are an action-adventure destination. Therefore, it narrows down the competition as we look for series, movies or reality shows which cater to that genre.”

     

    On the other hand, Mr Palia feels that though procuring rights is a complicated process, nothing is easy when it comes to running a channel. “It’s a part and parcel of starting a channel. What is more important is the selection process of the shows which will interest the India n audience. Demand for international shows has increased in the country of late and people have become choosy about what they want to watch.”

     

    Hence, many channels are now associating with production houses or producing their own shows as they feel it will help them grow their market without too much of a trouble.

     

    Vishal Rally

    “There could be 100 popular international shows, but we cannot telecast them all. So, a channel needs to choose what their TG wants. Thankfully, we are backed up with a studio and a JV which allows us to telecast shows simultaneously in India as well. We telecast shows like Survivors, NCIS at par with their international seasons. That’s our USP,” said Vishal Rally, business head, BIG CBS Network.

     

    Nevertheless, most channels agree that it isn’t an easy task to get good international shows to India , but to keep the competition at bay, they have to try to out-do internet but also each other by bringing the latest shows to their audience’s living rooms ASAP.

     

    Many broadcasters are also aware that the internet viewership of popular shows is small, and the public still prefers a bigger screen experience. As one broadcaster said, high speed broadband connections exist, but not with everyone. And the buffering is a pain. It’s a huge negative for the viewers who watch English GECs.

     

    But low broadband speeds and poor connectivity will soon be a thing of the past, right? Yes and so will dated soaps and old seasons be, says the broadcaster, requesting anonymity. “Right now, we are catching up with old seasons since most people haven’t watched them… For instance, how many people have watched The Newsroom, which has been receiving rave reviews?” There’s also an issue of copyright and picture quality. “Some of what you see on YouTube is pirated and is being yanked off the site when caught in the act. And if it is available somewhere, it appears to have been recorded on the microwave oven… Who wants to view Masterchef where a tomato looks like a potato!!!”

     

    Hmmm. Surely reason for us to wait and watch. Or in this case, watch and wait.

     

  • Introducing a new weekly column by Paritosh Joshi, until recently CEO, Star CJ. Given his varied experience in the media, as a marketer and on industry bodies, Mr Joshi will analyse issues concerning the business of media and marketing. And more!

    Introducing: Media Matrix, a new weekly column by Paritosh Joshi

    By Paritosh Joshi

     

    A young man who currently works in one of the Big Three television networks dropped by for some career advice last week. After graduating from business school, he has spent almost five years at the job, the first two in Ad Sales and the next three in Marketing. He feels like he is beginning to stagnate and has raised the issue with his boss. Boss suggested that he move back into Ad Sales.

     

    What would you advise him?

     

    If he planned to be in the broadcast industry for the long haul, say the next decade, I suggested that he stay in Marketing. If it was just the next two or three however, he was likely better off shifting back to Ad Sales.

     

    Seems cryptic? Hang on, we should soon see why.

     

    Marketing’s role at most Indian broadcasters only comes in when all aspects of the channel, show or event have already been finalized. All that remains is to build awareness of the impending launch to try and ensure the quickest possible pace of sampling among viewers. Talented creative agency is called in and briefed. Wit, emotion, action and drama are poured in and out pops a striking, often award winning, campaign. All that remains to be done is splashing out a large sum on a media plan and the job is done.

     

    If you learned your Marketing at one of the putative Universities of the discipline, P&G or Unilever or one of the beverage majors for instance, you would expect to lead, not follow the process and centre every decision at each stage on the consumer. It would probably offend you to be treated merely as a deliverer of advertising and media campaigns. Given the circumstances, you would want to shift closer to either the Content or the Ad Sales side of the business, where the action really was.

     

    Things are going to start changing. As soon as July 1, 2012 actually.

     

    For as long as we’ve had C&S TV inIndia, going on 20 years now, the biggest impediment in its expansion has been limited bandwidth due to analog delivery. With capacity of less than 70 channels delivered at indifferent resolution and scratchy audio, the biggest challenge before a channel is to get distribution at whatever cost. Once this hurdle has been negotiated, it enters a relatively limited range of options available in any given genre. The rest depends on casting as wide a content net as possible. Almost every channel tries to be all things to all viewers.

     

    Mandatory digitization arrives in the big metros on July 1. In a fell swoop, channel choice is set to grow three-fold or more. Costs of distribution should fall rather sharply, removing a significant entry barrier and opening doors for many more content providers. Inevitably, the days of every channel wanting to be ‘One size fits all’ must give way to specific consumer needs driving product design. International channels already show this precision in proposition and content. Comedy Central makes no bones about what it stands for and will stay close to the promise. Fox has a whole portfolio of well-designed channels that identify and then single mindedly go after a tightly defined benefit.

     

    And make no mistake. This is the direction where all of Indian television is headed; the era of the Marketing-led broadcasting business.

     

    Paritosh Joshi was until recently CEO, Star CJ. He has been a marketer, a mediaperson and been a key officebearer on industry bodies. He can reached via his Twitter handle @paritoshZero

     

  • In Freaking News, which will now appear every Tuesday and Friday, Ranjona Banerji reviews the fare in the morning papers and the nightly news. And sometimes the afternooners, the newsmags and all that's on the Web

    [MJR] It’s all about how the media operates

    By Ranjona Banerji

     

    The most serious news programme on TV sometimes is The Daily Show by Jon Stewart, aired every week night on Comedy Central at 11.30pm. The only show that comes close is, of course, The Week That Wasn’t on CNN-IBN with Cyrus Broacha.

     

    On Monday night, on The Daily Show, Stewart was all ready to discuss the fact that the Trayvon Martin case was finally going to trial. He was ready with the legalities of the case. Only, his reporters all vanished on him. There they were in Florida, standing outside the courthouse, because story was now no longer about George Zimmerman shooting Trayvon Martin: it was about the media and its reactions.

     

    A programme with a 24-hour discussion on whether the media was over-reacting was proposed. As Stewart had fits in the studio and ordered his reporters to get back to New York, they refused saying that this case was already being called the “case of the century”, “case of the millennium” and “case of the millennia” and they were not going to lose out.

     

    What a fine exaggeration of the way the media operates, I giggled to myself.

    Then, at midnight, I shifted to Times Now. Only to see Arnab Goswami in fine form, as he held forth on morality and the nation and the alleged sex CD featuring former Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi and a lawyer. Some mention of becoming a high court judge as a result of this slap-and-tickle was made.

     

    The panel was three journalists (four, if you count Goswami) and Siddharth Singh of the BJP. The BJP was, as far as I could understand, upset that Singhvi had resigned from his posts. They wanted him to explain the CD in the house (presumably not in a sex education way but knowing the BJP’s penchant for porn in legislatures, anything is possible). If the CD was real, then a probe (not like that!) was required. And if it was not real – as Singhvi has said – then another probe was required.

     

    Vinod Mehta, guiding light of Outlook said it’s all over and done with, Singhvi has resigned and let this remain a private matter. Vinod Sharma of Hindustan Times said the BJP was trying to squeeze every last drop of political mileage out of this, in spite of their own transgressions and once the Pandora’s Box was opened, they would not be safe. Arati Jerath said if this is the way high court judges are appointed, it is shocking and the matter should not be ignored.

     

    Goswami said that politicians can no longer as for privacy when their private lives are made public by the media, given the BJP’s demands.

     

    If this wasn’t fascinating enough, the next debate turned to the rift within Team Anna. Here the viewer was spectator to an incredible public squabble between three Team Anna members as Goswami and Hartosh Singh Bal of Open magazine watched with their mouths opening astonishment. Truly it was jaw-dropping stuff. All sorts of internal problems and ego battles were revealed.

     

    At the end, Goswami sternly admonished Team Anna that the fight against corruption was not anyone’s monopoly!

     

    At the end – 1.30 am — there was only the terrible truth of The Daily Show to think about. I didn’t sleep till about 3am as a result.

     

    * * *

     

    There is plenty of cyber rage over Press Council chairman Markandey Katju’s “proof” that 90 per cent of Indians are fools. People, get over this. The man is entitled to his opinion!

     

  • In Freaking News, which will now appear every Tuesday and Friday, Ranjona Banerji reviews the fare in the morning papers and the nightly news. And sometimes the afternooners, the newsmags and all that's on the Web

    For the 100th edition of Freaking News, some TV awards

    By Ranjona Banerji

     

    Outright, hands down, CNN-IBN wins the award for Silliest Debate Topic Ever On A Monday Night: “Is Yuvraj Singh the next Lance Armstrong?”. For those who have been living on Mars, cricketer Yuvraj Singh has been under treatment for cancer in the US and has just returned to India. A long recovery period lies ahead. Ace cyclist Lance Armstrong, a tour de force on the Tour de France, won his battle with cancer and didn’t let it affect his sporting prowess and achievements. Surely however, it is far too early to comment on Singh’s condition and future at all, although there must be every hope for a full recovery and return to form. Under the circumstances, this kind of discussion appears insensitive and illogical.

     

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    The Earnest Sadness In The Face of Terrible Facts award for Monday night goes to Arnab Goswami and Times Now on the discussion about a spurt in incidents of violence committed by teenagers. Goswami rued that the motto of “Simple living and high thinking” no longer made sense to the post-reforms generation and participants talked about how the drive for money and success had skewed values for young people. There was a pall of gloom all over the Times Now set as actors ruminated on the terrible effects of money and lack of supervision on young people. I had to use at least three hankies. Note to self: keep a box of tissues next to the television.

     

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    The award for showing Immense Fortitude In The Face Of Severe Provocation is shared jointly by Nidhi Razdan of NDTV and Sagorika Ghose of CNN-IBN as they attempted to control Trinamool whatever-he-is Derek O’Brien as he defended his Supreme Leader Mamata Banerjee from the wicked media. First on NDTV and then on CNN-IBN, O’Brien shouted, flustered and blustered his way through as he got angrier and angrier that anyone had dared to criticise his Supreme Leader. Razdan had him first and she barely managed to get him to stop talking so that the other guests could have their say.

     

    By the time he reached CNN-IBN, he had worked himself into a fine rage. He then “had words” with a CPI spokesperson which descended to phrases like “You are not the king of me” being bandied about. He then called Lord Meghnad Desai ‘Lord Swarj Paul” which led to another bout in which O’Brien emerged bloody. Then he and Desai got into another spat.

     

    All in all, Ghose was out-shouted and had to use her diplomatic skills (come on, we’re all born with them) to stop her guests from killing O’Brien. Even Dexter seemed kind and gentle after all this.

     

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    After all that, Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show on Comedy Central gets the award for Restoring Sanity to News Analysis as he took on the shooting of American teenager Trayvon Martin by a Neighbourhood Watch member George Zimmerman in Florida. Stewart asked all the questions that anyone following the case wants answers to.

    Phew.