MxMIndia

Tag: India Today

  • … over the last few weeks, writes Pradyuman Maheshwari

    10 Reasons why English News Channels have been generating a Frown…

     

     

    By Pradyuman Maheshwari

     

    If you’ve been subjecting yourself to the developments of the last few weeks, you would possibly be left wondering whether the same news media that sermonises on what’s wrong and what’s right in India has embarked on a path that’s very uncool. Uncool is perhaps too soft a word. As the road sign says: Danger lies ahead.

    Let’s start with the beginning:

    01. Shout as if there’s no tomorrow: I was among the first commentators to applaud Arnab Goswami in 2008 for asking the tough questions. But is it right to forever keep raising your voice – with 6 to 8 talking heads screaming and shouting? Perhaps not. And even on nationalistic issues, if Pakistan is Enemy #1, why call people from there? How about some neutral, global commentators? And look at what’s happened when Goswami left Times Now? Another bunch of noise-makers!

     

    02. There’s no really neutral English news TV channel. Sadly, there is no clearly neutral English television channel. NDTV 24×7: Appears neutral only because it doesn’t gush about the government, but clearly left liberal. CNN-IBN is mostly neutral and isn’t obviously pro-Modi even though it’s Mukesh Ambani-owned, but given its ownership, it can’t obviously be neutral. Must say that it hasn’t been tested on this score yet. India Today: Rajdeep Sardesai is exceedingly neutral, but Gaurav Sawant? And why did they need to cover Yogi Adityanath live for nearly two days. And Times Now: unlike the paper, the channel is pro-BJP, and in my mind, it’s to the extreme. Sorry, I don’t watch enough or any of NewsX and WION to comment on them, but from what I remember of it, NewsX isn’t exactly neutral and WION is as of today too insignificant to matter

     

    03. Legit, but unfair distribution marketing: Using multiple frequencies to promote themselves on different genres is wrong as per the rules, but almost every channel has been reported to have indulged in it – in the distant and recent past. At one level, it’s an unfair practice. But why should the government or TRAI bother. An activity likes this costs top $$$s (in fact $$$$$$$$$$s), and a channel can’t do it forever, unless it cares a damn about its bottomline. Crying to the quasi-government TRAI and the ministry too often can backfire bigtime!

     

    04. Pulling out from the BARC ratings is incorrect. The joint industry body was set up by the ecosystem – broadcasters, agencies and advertisers. And the setting up was accelerated because of a news network’s angst against the earlier measurement firm (TAM). The likelihood of relative errors is a reality, and needs to be factored in at all times. Does this mean one must pull out of the measurement system. What the News Broadcasters Association (NBA) has done doesn’t augur too well for the entire ecosystem. In fact it was Regressive. Let’s capitalise that: REGRESSIVE!

     

    05. While television channels can be aggrieved, industry associations should be above interests of individual channels. The NBA erred on that. NBA President Ashish Bagga, is also CEO of TV Today Network, which runs the India Today channel and the decision to advise member English news channels to pull out was taken under his leadership. From what I hear, NBA may not be a divided house on this decision, but it’s clearly not united on it. There are some who believe that the episode could’ve been handled better. Meanwhile, I believe constituents of the ecosystem mustn’t handle them with kid gloves, as I think they have been.

     

    06. The secretariat of the two key industry associations could do with some attention. The reason why NASSCOM or the much larger FICCI and CII are so successful is not because of the Chairman or Presidents, but because of the Secretary Generals or whatever the head of the secretariat is designated. The IBF, which is 60 per cent owner of BARC, chose to stay mum on the issue. And the NBA secretary-general chair perhaps needs a new occupant. The issue could’ve been handled better had there been a more dynamic head of both these bodies

     

    07. Times Now has been making optimum use of its siblings The Times of India and Economic Times for promotion. What it doesn’t realise is that its readers see through the negative propaganda and every printed report actually gives more publicity to Arnab Goswami’s Republic TV. While it’s got India’s most celebrated journalist as a mascot, Republic got a major shot in the arm with all the publicity in the #1 paper of the country. Earned media or whatever it’s called! PS: the page slug on the ET page that carries the report today says: Pure Politics.

     

    08. Cross-ownership issues have sprung up again with the Times of India and Economic Times offer prime space for negative stories on Republic TV. The stories make for good fodder for a trade site, but for a broadbased general news or a business daily? Had it been any other country, there would’ve been complaints on cross-media ownership. In India, no such luck. Governments are just too scared of the print mediawallahs

     

    09. BARC guidelines not followed on advertising: This is something that Republic TV is going to get nailed on. By promoting viewership numbers for just one or two weeks, one is going against the guideline of advertising viewership numbers. The problem is that the reprimand, if any, happens when the damage is done. And the only way in which this malaise can be corrected if an industry association issues a diktat and imposes penal action.

     

    10. The NBA and all the English news channels must realise that while the wars may have resulted in greater viewership attracting undue attention can be counter to their overall interests. For instance, the repeated statements by various people that the English news channels audiences don’t really matter. Etc, Etc. In the longer run, the perception sticks while making advertising decisions. And all of it is very bad for the genre as a whole.

     

    Pradyuman Maheshwari is Editor-in-Chief, MxMIndia. The views expressed here are his own

     

     

  • India Today has even urged BARC, to stop publishing data for Times Now with immediate effect

    And now, India Today complains to TRAI & BARC on Times Now using multiple LCNs; Times Now says it did it in self-defence

    By A Correspondent [updated]

     

    Even as English news channels got together on Republic’s ratings, India Today has complained to TRAI and BARC on Times Now also choosing to be piped out via multiple LCNs.

    According to documents in the possession of MxMIndia, India Today has been very scathing in its complaint on Times Now. It has in fact even urged BARC, to stop publishing data for Times Now with immediate effect.

    The development has got some industry seniors to wonder why the two channels – India Today and Times Now – who have joined hands to fight Republic are now fighting each other. Or at least India Today is fighting Times Now.

    When asked to comment on the India Today complaint, this is what a Times Now spokesperson told us (via mail): “Times Now did a defensive manoeuvre. We have never been an advocate of multiple LCNs and have NOT run our channel that way till last week. In fact we have been an affected party more than once and raised this issue at various levels. It was only after a desperate and aggressive move was made by Republic TV on the ground that we upped the ante in self – defence. As part of NBA, and as a responsible brand, we endorse strict action against such destructive and diversionary tactics. Times Now is NOT playing on multiple LCNs anywhere in the country as of now. The impressions of week 19, including our own are tainted and not dependable due to this reason and we had joined the NBA in raising it to BARC earlier this week.”

    However, according to unverified information received by MxMIndia, Times Now is reported  to have taken up dual LCNs… around the time of the launch of India Today channel and also the UP elections.

  • I am not sure how legally tenable the complaint is, but in my limited view, it was unethical, writes Pradyuman Maheshwari

    Mediaah!: Is BCCL right in registering a copyright infringement complaint against Arnab Goswami?

    By Pradyuman Maheshwari

     

    Is Bennett, Coleman & Company Limited (BCCL) right in registering a copyright infringement complaint against Arnab Goswami? Yes, it is. I am not sure how legally tenable the complaint is, but in my limited view, it was unethical. When the story was first aired on Republic TV on May 8, one couldn’t help sitting up and take notice. But then along with the various questions that Goswami raised in his ‘super exclusive’, there were some questions that I had.

     

    The Economic Times report (Page 3, May 17, Mumbai edition)

    See report in Economic Times on the complaint: link

    In fact, I tweeted about it (see link).

    The fact that it was only retweeted twice indicates that copyright and editorial ethics aren’t considered very critical and holy to many (or most?) in India. Copyright, it’s often joked, is the right to copy!

    But this isn’t about copyright. That’s something for Times Network owners to take up with the Courts.

    It’s an issue of ethics.

    The recordings of the conversation between Prema Sridevi, the reporter and Shashi Tharoor or Sunanda Pushkar’s Man Friday was done when the reporter reportedly worked with Times Now. Unless her terms expressly stated it, or she was just a freelancer with the channel, the recordings belong to work done when the reporter was an employee.I am not sure what is the legal view on it, but it’s not ethical.

    I am not even raising issues of why Goswami and Sridevi, now Editor-News at Repulic,  didn’t air the recording when they were in Times Now, but that’s not really my concern though it’s a question that must be answered.

    The Nation wants to know…

     

    **

     

    All eyes are now on the BARC India numbers that will be out tomorrow (Thursday, May 18). Given all the promotions and distribution via multiple frequencies, it’s quite likely that Republic will be #1, but the question is that it’s not a play over one week. Republic can’t be spending so much monies on distribution as it’s today, so the real story will emerge after a few weeks when it opts of taking multiple frequencies.

    To Goswami’s credit, his equity with viewers is huger than all the other anchors. The MxMIndia-MRSSINDIA poll earlier this week indicated that Rajdeep Sardesai is a close second and not a distant one in the trust factor, but it’s for India Today to use this to their advantage. Possibly promote Sardesai a little more.

    We’re going to see some interesting times over the next few weeks or months. And we aren’t complaining

     

    Pradyuman Maheshwari is Editor-in-Chief and founder, MxMIndia. The views expressed here are his own.

     

  • Even as the numbers from BARC are awaited, our study throws up some interesting findings… read on

    The MxMIndia-MRSSINDIA Poll on English News Channels

     

    By  A Correspondent

     

    India has seen launches of several media entities. But in recent years, the launch of Republic TV has been the most high profile. This could be possibly because of the entities involved: Arnab Goswami, decidedly the most well-known journalists across genres, and Times Now, which is part of one of India’s largest, richest and most powerful media conglomerates.

     

    While Republic TV launched on May 6, and there have been some numbers from OTT platform Hotstar and digital media that have come in, the numbers of consequence – from BARC India – will be out only on Thursday, May 18.

     

    MxMIndia commissioned leading marketing and opinion research firm MRSS India (www.mrssindia.com) to conduct a small study to find the mood of the masses, especially in urban India.

     

    Here’s the summary of the findings:

    :: Majority of English news channel viewers mentioned they are aware of ‘Republic TV’ English news channel and most of them (41%) perceive it to be ‘Better than Others’.

    :: Centre wise, Mumbai (41%) perceive it as ‘More Credible’, Delhi (39%) find it ‘Old Wine …’, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata and Ahmedabad English news channel viewers find Republic TV ‘Better than others’.

    :: Aggressive approach is found more appropriate for Debates, Breaking news and Analysis & interpretations. whereas, softer approach is found more appropriate for News deliver, soft news, sports and business news.

    :: Most viewers look at News channels to be opinionated but there is also a strong sense of believe that news channels should also play a vital role in bringing about political or social changes.

    :: Overall, print is a more trusted source (51%), closely followed by News channels, currently online (websites) are not considered a trust worthy source. News paper is more trusted by viewers in New Delhi, Bengaluru, Kolkata and Chennai. News Channels are considered better trusted source by viewers in Mumbai and Ahmedabad.

    :: When it is need to verify news, the first source is News Television (54%). This is more in Chennai (54%), Kolkata (68%) and Ahmedabad (67%).

    :: Arnab Goswami and Rajdeep Sardesai are considered the most trusted news anchor by close to 1/3rd of the viewers. Barkha Dutt comes at third place. While Goswami leads comfortably in Bengaluru and Kolkata. Sardesai has higher trust value in New Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai. Dutt is relatively strong in Ahmedabad and Chennai.

    :: Among the English news channels visited in last 1 week, Republic TV was 41%, Times Now is 35%, followed by NDTV 24×7 is 32%.

  • The new changes will enhance the magazine's core values of clarity, credibility and relevance and provide insights, knowledge and perspectives on a range of issues

    India Today Group revamps flagship mag India Today

    By A Correspondent

     

    India Today Group is re-launching its 41-year-old flagship English news magazine India Today in a completely new avatar.

     

    The new changes – effective the issue that will be out today (Jan 27) – will enhance the magazine’s core values of clarity, credibility and relevance and provide insights, knowledge and perspectives on a range of contemporary issues to its readers, notes a communique.

     

    Commenting on the reinvention of the magazine, Aroon Purie, Chairman and Editor-in-Chief, India Today Group, said, “We live in a time where we are flooded with news 24×7 about anyone, anywhere, anytime. But it remains important to know what is significant and what is the truth. In all the noise that surrounds us, truth has become an endangered species. India Today magazine has always striven to get you the truth without any agenda, and an understanding of contemporary issues that really matters.”

     

  • An analysis by Stratagem Media on how the English news channels fared post-demonetisation and Arnab Goswami's exit

    Mitron, the Nation wants to Know…

     

    Call it the News Channel Dangal or whatever, here’s an analysis by Stratagem Media on how the English news channels fared post-demonetisation and Arnab Goswami’s exit

    Background :

    The economic and political scenario in the country over the last two months has been fodder for the news business – mainly with the announcement and unfolding of the demonetization drama, followed by the demise of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, J Jayalalithaa. But for all of us in the marketing and media fraternity, something equally dramatic happened about the same time.

    On November 2, the media fraternity witnessed a piece of truly “breaking news” –Arnab Goswami, the editor-in-chief and star NewsHour anchor of Times Now channel had resigned. Well of course, he was still on air, for the next few days, when on November 8, even as everyone was trying to predict the after-effect of his departure from the TV screen, the shock-n-awe of demonetisation happened.

    Speculation about Goswami’s departure from the TV screen, and his plan thereafter,has been rife, ever since.

    Objective of the study:

    At Stratagem Media Pvt. Ltd, we were equally eager to understand the effect of these developments on the viewership of news channels. Our friends (mitrons) and fellow professionals in the media and marketing fields (by and large, our ‘nation’), would be keen to understand

    – whether news viewership has risen post-demonetisation

    – whether there is a difference between the after-math of demonetization on English and Hindi news channels?

    – Or has Mr Goswami’s absence from the TV screen, had any effect on channel viewership and if so, how much?

    But we felt it would be prudent to resist the temptation of jumping to conclusions and not rush through the analysis. So, we waited for the scenario to stabilise, till viewership data for at least a few weeks had trickled in.

    Here’s a study of viewership,both pre- and post-demonetisation, which happened to also coincide with ArnabGoswami’s last week on the screen. Naturally, the questions that have been addressed are whether the viewership of English and Hindi News channels was affected in any way, post that week, and what was the effect on the viewership of specific channels.

     

     

    Methodology:

    A simple viewership comparison was undertaken for a period of 10 weeks i.e. five weeks pre- and five weeks post demonetisation/ Mr Goswami’s departure from the screen.

    This study was focused on the ‘9 pm to 11 pm’ time slot on the weekdays, (which historically contributes to a major proportion of viewership). This analysis was done for three relevant geographical units (the 1mn+ cities across the country, Mumbai+Delhiand Mumbai+Delhi+Bengaluru), as well as for a relevant and sufficiently wide target group comprising of Males,above the age of 22 years belonging to the top two segments of affluence (i.e.NCCS AB)Although not all of it is published here, the analysis was also undertaken simultaneously, but separately, for the entire genre of Hindi News channels and English News channels (including English business channels).

    Two viewership parameters were examined – gross impressions and relative channel share (for the English and Hindi channel genres).

    The source of all data was the BARC viewership ratings.

    Conclusions (English channels):- (Refer slides above)

    From the above analyses,in the five weeks post-demonetisation,it is evident that (within the specific TG of Men, above the age of 22, from the top 2 affluence classes – NCCS A&B), in the prime time slot of 9 pm to 11 pm,

    – The viewership of English News channels in all main cities in India, in fact declined by 1 %, in the 5 weeks post demonetization. But it increased by about 11 % to 12 % in the 2–3 main metros. In other words, as expected, the viewership pie of English news genre as a whole has only managed to increase in the main cities (Mumbai, Bengaluru, Delhi) where the English news channels get most of their eyeballs.

    – While Times Now continues to lead the pack in the English News genre, the decline in its viewership, ranged from – 29 % to  -45 % in these 3 market units. In fact, even CNN News18 declined by about 27 %, to 61 %,whereas the gain in viewership of other channels such as NDTV 24×7 and India Today TV, was considerable, ranging between 99 % to 230 % for either of them, over the same period. However these channels grew from a relatively much smaller base.

    – Consequently, in the main cities of the country as a unit, the decline in the relative share of viewership for Times Now was from 55 % to 40 %, whereas NDTV 24×7’s relative share grew from 8 % to 17 %, and India Today TV’s relative share grew from 12 % to 19 %.

    – The corresponding changes in viewership shares, in the main metros for these channels were even more pronounced, as evident from the graphs.

    – And yet, without doubt, Times Now still stands head-n-shoulders above the other English News channels.

     

    Conclusions (Hindi News channels)

    From the analyses, it was also evident that in the 5 weeks post demonetisation, (and within the specific TG of Men, above the age of 22, from the top 2 affluence classes – NCCS A&B), in the prime time slot of 9 pm to 11 pm

    – The viewership of Hindi News channels increased by as much as 29 % in the 1 mn + cities, with some channels registering gains of more than 50 %

     – In terms of relative channel shares, the biggest gainers were News18 India, Zee News and AajTak.

    So, on an apple-to-apple comparison, Hindi channels seem to have grown in the post-demonetisation phase, in the cities, whereas English channels have in fact, marginally declined. So, could this perhaps be a case of missed opportunity.

    This does however give rise to another pertinent question. What constitutes brand identity for a media house – be it a newspaper title, a TV channel, an FM station or a website? They say ‘Content is King’, but is it just content, or the values that the brand is perceived to stand for, or production quality, or just the sheer the persona of the anchors/ RJs.

    To validate some of the quantitative findings of this analysis, we asked senior media professionals about their individual opinions and experiences. This is what they had to say :

    Sandip Tarkas

    Sandeep Tarkas, CEO (Sports, Media & Special Projects), Future Group, states that “I think Arnab was the person I missed the most during the entire demonetisation debate. After initially watching a lot more of news for about a week, I have almost stopped watching news TV, and that’s where I missed Arnab. He would have brought the right issues to the fore even if one didn’t agree with his take on the issue”.

     

     

    Karthik Mani

    Kartik Mani, Founder, Chief Insurgent – Merry Men, says that although he has never been a fan of Arnab Goswami, but Arnab’s absence has made watching Times Now, a lot less compelling.

     

     

     

    Munnish Puri

    Munnish Puri, media expert & Founder, Indian Financial Advisors, has this to say:”Beyond doubt, Arnab and Times Now were a highly impactful combination. Viewers tuned-in to get real ‘inside information’ of the news that mattered. Even global audiences took a strong liking to Arnab. Looking at the recent viewership data, it is not surprising that the Times Now viewership has been impacted. The Newshour is certainly not as engaging without Arnab!’

     

     

    Bharat Kapadia

    Bharat Kapadia, veteran media expert, confesses that he gets put off when news channels become noise channels, and that leads to reduced exposure. But he adds that Arnab always had the last & loudest word which at times made it interesting. And that he has hardly watched Times Now after Arnab quit. Bharatbhai also adds that his time spent watching news channels post demonetisation had increased, but he was disappointed about the way the topic was covered by all channels in general. There was no depth in the content, just opinionated angles and gimmicky presentation. He feels that it is entirely possible for face value to outweigh brand value of a media house, just as it happens in the film industry.

     

    Sumit Roy

    For Sumit Roy, Founder Director Univbrands, Times Now was not the preferred channel. He sums it up by saying: “Times Now isn’t any better now, without Arnab. As a policy I switch channels when any Anchor speaks over the Panelist and cannot control panelists speaking over each other. Some other anchors seem to have gone that route as well.As a result my preferred news channels are India Today, NDTV and BBC World. In that order. I stay with whichever (of these) has the more interesting story at the time of watching.”

     

    Nevertheless, as evident from the above analyses, it’s not just content, or the values of a news channel, or production quality, that builds a TV brand. Viewership also seems to be obviously sensitive to changes in brand persona.All in all, with state elections around the corner, we can be sure that the News Channel ‘Dangal’ is far from over.

     

    Sundeep Nagpal

    This report has been conceived and produced by Stratagem Media Pvt Ltd., an independent media specialist company, headed by its Founder–Director, Sundeep Nagpal

     

  • Top Bollywood directors create short films for the mobile generation

    India Today premieres India Tomorrow

    By A Correspondent

     

    On the occasion of India Today’s 40 years, celebrated Bollywood directors Imtiaz Ali, Pradeep Sarkar, Rohan Sippy, Hansal Mehta and MeghnaGulzar have created their expression of India Tomorrow through short three-minute films for the mobile generation on the future of our nation.

     

    The different directors bring their unique storytelling styles in these short mobile format films that will touch a million hearts across mobile, digital and the television medium.

     

    The movies with a message are a reflection of our times and a gaze into the future through the eyes of the different masters. Expect the unexpected in the short few minutes that will grip you and leave you with an everlasting impression.

     

    Speaking on the films, Kalli Purie, Group Editorial Director (Broadcast & New Media), India Today Group said, “The films reflect the spirit of India Today that is constantly creating a better and more promising India Tomorrow. I would like to thank the directors for sharing their vision through these films.”

     

  • On Thursday, as per the BARC data for Week 22, India Today had stolen a march over Times Now with a wide margin but as per TAM data for Week 23 released the same data, Times Now continues to be the leader

    As BARC data puts India Today as #1, Times Now goes back to TAM to claim supremacy

    By Our Research Editor

     

    It may be laughed at as a ‘chance pe dance’, or smart thinking to claim an upper hand. Times Now is now quoting TAM figures to claim supremacy over India Today Television.

     

    On Thursday, June 11, as per the BARC data for Week 22, India Today had stolen a march over Times Now with a wide margin.

     

    This happened on a day, when it was announced that Times Now star anchor and editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami will now be President – News and Editor-in-Chief, Times Now and  ET Now. Other than Goswami,  CFO Jagdish Mulchandani was also elevated to President – Finance and Distribution

     

    As per BARC ratings released for Week 22, its launch has been nothing short of extraordinary, said an India Today communiqué. “India Today Television has maintained an extremely healthy sampling that’s 73% over Times Now in 6 megacities and 48% above Times Now in All India (22+ M AB). The maximum number of viewers in Prime time also watched India Today Television, double the number of Times Now viewers in 6 Megacities and 57% more than Time Now in All India (Mon-Fri, 1900-2400, 22+ M AB). Programming-wise, India Today Television also topped the charts with 4 out of top 5 programmes (22+M AB, All India).”

     

    However, as per data that was released by TAM, Times Now continues to be the leader and India Today doesn’t even figure in the Top 3. Times Now does not currently advertise on MxMIndia, but our attention was drawn to a mailer doing the rounds that carries TAM data. Times Now, we learn, continues to be a subscriber of TAM data although many networks have opted out.

     

    A media analyst we spoke to said this is bound to happen and one can expect to see more of it in the coming months. Channel managers must realise that buyers of advertising do not get swayed by claims made in advertising, said the analyst who spoke anonymously.

     

    As reported by MxMIndia earlier, other than a very aggressive promotional blitz, the India Today reach has also leapfrogged thanks to usage of dual frequency. But, of course, India Today was not the only channel indulging in what is referred to an unfair trade practice. Accrording to a report in Business Standard, while India Today has used dual frequency in 70 cable networks, Times Now has done that in close to half that at 29 networks.

     

    Time for IBF and the NBA to act on the matter. Anyone listening?

     

  • As BARC India rolled out its Individual Viewership data starting Week 21, Zee TV swa

    Zee, India Today big gainers as BARC India releases individual ratings

    By A Correspondent

     

    Joint industry body BARC India has rolled out its first set of data on individual viewership starting with Week 21 of calendar year 2015. That’s Saturday, May 23 to Friday, May 29, 2015. Starting Week 21, of BARC India will get both – household and individual viewership ratings data on their BARC India Media Workstation (BMW) user software.

     

    The following are the highlights from Week 21 of the data release:

    :: Among Hindi GECs, Zee TV moves up to No 3 position in Individual ratings data from its earlier No 4 position in Household ratings data (HSM 1L+ C&S)
    :: CNBC TV 18 is the clear leader amongst English Business News Channel (All India 1L+ C&S). This is important given the major ads by rival ET Now claiming supremacy
    :: IPL 49.4 mn individuals in 20.7 mn homes spent average of 1hr 8 mins watching the IPL Final. This corresponds to 11.24 mn Rat’000s (Between 7:30pm to 1:00am) (All India 1L+ C&S) – Combined for Sony Max, Sony SIX, Sony Six HD. BARC India categorises Max as a sports channel given the IPL telecast.
    :: Even as Times Now leads the English news category, India Today with its new brand name (from Headlines Today) has higher Reach and is No 2 this week (All India 1L+ C&S)
    :: Colors is primetime Hindi GEC leader in Individual ratings, ahead of Star Plus (7:00pm to 11:30pm) (HSM 1L+ C&S)
    :: Star Plus is leading Hindi GEC channel of the country (HSM 1L+ C&S)
    :: Sun TV is a dominant leader in Tamil Nadu market (1L+ C&S)
    :: Colors Kannada is the market leader in Karnataka market (1L+ C&S)
    :: Pogo is the market leader in Kids category (All India 4-14 yrs 1L+ C&S), marginally ahead of Nick.
    :: Discovery is the leader in the infotainment category (All India 1L+ C&S)
    :: Zee Telugu is a dominant leader in AP/Telangana market (1L+ C&S)

     

    Said Partho Dasgupta, CEO, BARC India:“While all Broadcasters were using the household data to their benefit – now with individual data releasing, media planners, buyers and advertisers will make the most of it too. This is the next launch in series of phased launches for the world’s largest and most modern audience measurement system.”

     

    FIRST LOOK AT DATA FOR WEEK 21 – SATURDAY 23rd TO FRIDAY 29th MAY 2015.

     

    1. Hindi GEC – Top 10

    Top 10 Channels

    HSM (1 Lac+ C&S Individuals)

    Hindi GEC

    Wk 21

    Rat´000 {Sum}

    Star Plus

    406,152

    Colors

    361,133

    Zee TV

    232,395

    Life Ok

    224,480

    Sony Sab

    187,228

    Sony Entertainment Television

    135,127

    &TV

    77,090

    Zee Anmol

    37,058

    Rishtey

    32,943

    Star Utsav

    32,265

     

    2.  Hindi GEC – Top 3 (Prime Time)

    Top 3 Channels (1900 – 2300)

    HSM (1 Lac+ C&S Individuals)

    Hindi GEC

    Wk 21

    Rat´000 {Sum}

    Colors

    212,418

    Star Plus

    206,654

    Zee TV

    131,215

     

    3. Hindi Movies – Top 3

    Top 3 Channels

    HSM (1 Lac+ C&S Individuals)

    Hindi Movies

    Wk 21

    Rat´000 {Sum}

    Zee Cinema

    175,798

    Star Gold

    170,535

    Movies OK

    124,634

     

    4. Tamil GEC – Top 3

    Top 3 Channels

    TN /Pondichery (1 Lac+ C&S Individuals)

    Tamil GEC

    Wk 21

    Rat´000 {Sum}

    Sun TV

    273,090

    KTV

    98,006

    Star Vijay

    82,015

     

    5. Telugu GEC – Top 3

    Top 3 Channels

    AP/ Telangana (1 Lac+ C&S Individuals)

    Telugu GEC

    Wk 21

    Rat´000 {Sum}

    Zee Telugu

    105,282

    Gemini TV

    95,704

    Maa TV

    90,063

     

    6. Bangla GEC – Top 3

    Top 3 Channels

    West Bengal (1 Lac+ C&S Individuals)

    Bangla GEC

    Wk 21

    Rat´000 {Sum}

    Star Jalsha

    73,916

    Zee Bangla

    47,864

    Jalsha Movies

    15,104

     

    7. Marathi GEC – Top 3

    Top 3 Channels

    Mah/Goa (1 Lac+ C&S Individuals)

    Marathi GEC

    Wk 21

    Rat´000 {Sum}

    Zee Marathi

    84,084

    Zee Talkies

    38,266

    Colors Marathi

    21,620

     

    8. Sports – Top 3

    Top 3 Channels

    All India (1 Lac+ C&S Individuals)

    Sports

    Wk 21

    Rat´000 {Sum}

    Sony MAX

    256,640

    Sony SIX

    51,286

    Ten Sports

    41,773

     

    9. Hindi News – Top 3

    Top 3 Channels

    HSM (1 Lac+ C&S Individuals)

    Hindi News

    Wk 21

    Rat´000 {Sum}

    Aaj Tak

    26,410

    ABP News

    22,898

    India TV

    22,487

     

    10. English News – Top 3

    Top 3 Channels

    All India AB Males 22+ (1 Lac+  C&S Individuals)

    English News

    Wk 21

    Rat´000 {Sum}

    Times Now

    497

    India Today

    175

    CNN IBN

    155

     

    11. Kids – Top 3

    Top 3 Channels

    All India 4-14 yrs (1 Lac+ C&S Individuals)

    Kids

    Wk 21

    Rat´000 {Sum}

    Pogo TV

    57,262

    NICK

    57,226

    Disney Channel

    39,161

     

    12. Infotainment – Top 3

    Top 3 Channels

    6 Mega Cities AB (1 Lac+ C&S Individuals)

    Infotainment

    Wk 21

    Rat´000 {Sum}

    Discovery

    5,776

    Animal Planet

    4,996

    History TV18

    4,100

     

    13. English Business News – Top 3

    Top 3 Channels

    All India AB Males 22+ (1 Lac+  C&S Individuals)

    English Business News

    Wk 21

    Rat´000 {Sum}

    CNBC TV 18

    127

    ET Now

    94

    NDTV Profit & NDTV Prime

    28

    Like earlier, BARC India will be releasing data for 1 lakh+ Cable and Satellite (C&S) markets which corresponds to a sample size of 47,293 Individuals and 10,760 Households utilising 12,000 Households data.

    Individual viewership ratings data will now be available in following cuts:

     

    Gender: Male, Female

    NCCS – The New SEC: New SEC A, New SEC B, New SEC C, New SEC D/E

    Life stages will be reported through relevant age cuts as follows:

    Kids (4-8 yrs), Tweens & Schoolers (9-14 yrs), Youth (15-21 yrs), Young Adults (22-30 yrs), Adults (31-40 yrs), Peak (41-50 yrs), Mature (51-60 yrs), Seniors (61 yrs+)

     

    Facts About BARC India for a recap:

    • Phase I: 1L+ C&S HHs – Empanelled – 12,000, Reporting – 10,760 households (1L+ C&S). Household universe is 54.99 mn and corresponding Individual Universe will be 231.67 mn.

     

    • Phase II: Including Less than 1 Lac – Urban + Rural – Empanelled – 22,000 HH, Reporting – 20,000 HH
    • 6 control variables -  Population Class, NCCS,  Gender, Education of Individuals, Mother Tongue, Household Size

    ·  Reporting Parameters are as follows:

    o   Minute by Minute Data

    o   Weekly Reporting

    o   Week Definition – Saturday to Friday

    o   Release Day – Thursday

    o   Reporting at Individual and Household Level

     

     

  • Do we think HuffPo India it has a future and is the Times of India-HuffPo marriage the right match or a mismatch, asks Pradyuman Maheshwari in Mediaah!

    Mediaah! HuffPost and Times of India — Great Match or Mismatch?

    By Pradyuman Maheshwari

     

    I am personally delighted to see the launch of the India edition of Huffington Post. Two reasons: One, we hear from politicians and the TV channels that India’s stock is rising in the world order, but it’s another thing to have an international news vehicle like Huffington Post enter India. And, two: I take great pride in the fact the Editor-in-Chief Sruthijith KK (SK) has been a friend. He was out there helping raise public opinion about this blog when it was in an independent avatar and was being taken on by a leading news daily.

    He was part of my team at dna in 2006-07, although he didn’t report to me directly. I was in touch with him till around a couple of years back, but met him at his office a couple of weeks back when I was in Noida.

    I am not very sure whether I have helped shape his career, but it surely feels good to see someone rise up the ranks to one of the most coveted jobs in the country. He was a good colleague, excellent at his job and went on to do some great work at Mint, Economic Times and later as editor of Quartz.

    The reason for this piece is not about SK or the fact HuffPo has entered the country, it’s about:

    1. Do we think HuffPo India it has a future?

    2. Is the Times of India-HuffPo marriage the right match or a mismatch?

    Does HuffPo have a future? Of course it does. Am sure the spreadsheets would’ve been done, but a lot depends a lot on how long the two partners keep investing in it. And, more importantly, how much the flavour of the US edition is retained here.

    There are a few other players who are into similar ventures in India: FirstPost, Scroll, Daily O, TheNewsMinute and Quartz. The last of these is where SK worked until recently, so he is obviously clued in to the kind of work HuffPo India needs. The scale is different of course. From the first look, HuffingtonPost.in appears to promise several stories every day, some original and many curated. It will have its set of blogs, and I am sure many of these will make for a good read.

    When I heard about HuffPo choosing Times of India as its partner in India, I was unsure if it would work. The internet requires a different style of operations which large media companies in India haven’t been able to establish. That’s one of the reasons why most websites of mainstream media print entities aren’t any great shakes. But the choice of SK and the dozen-odd journalists he has hired is excellent and could well get the team to produce compelling content.

    And finally to the point of whether TOI was the right choice for HuffPo India? My view: I am not sure. This isn’t the first time HuffPo has aligned itself with the big fish. In France, it’s partner is Le Monde. So TOI is not a special case.

    But what happens when TOI does some disdainful stuff like the focus on Deepika’s cleavage. Will HuffPo India damn it? Will it carry a campaign on Paid Content or something around the Arnab Goswami brand of primetime television journalism?

    I remarked on this when I met SK recently but didn’t push for an answer and get him on the backfoot. He obviously knows that it’s not easy to have a mainstream player like The Times of India as one of your parents.

    It’s not that one Times group publication hasn’t damned another in the past. I remember an editorial in The Times of India and Maharashtra Times taking on Vinod Mehta’s case on a  story on Maharashtra strongman YB Chavan in 1989.

    An India Today report sums up what happened following the publication of the YB Chavan story in the Independent (a daily that the Times of India ran from 1989 until the mid-1990s):

    “Intriguingly, the most scathing criticism of the report came from the editorial columns of the paper’s own sesquicentenarian sister. After excoriating “juvenile zeal for sensationalism”, the Times of India concluded: “The hysterical self-righteousness of sections of the press is only a facade for perpetrating politically-motivated intellectual terrorism.”

    So, Ariannan Huffington and Sruthijith KK  need not feel intimidated by Big Brother Times of India. There’s precedence.

    In a  2865-word opener Ms Huffington, talks about her views on India and what her site will be doing here. She writes:

    “And while HuffPost India will be reporting on all the challenges India is facing and all that is dysfunctional and not working, we’ll also be relentlessly telling the stories of what is working. To start with, we are spotlighting organizations that are tapping into Indians’ collective creativity and compassion to improve the lives of individuals and communities.”

    Just the kind of stuff that works in India and the rest of the world.

    Back to where we started.

    1. Do we think HuffPo India it has a future? Yes, it does. Will it be a financial success? We aren’t sure, but if The Times of India group isn’t able to manage this, who can?

    2. Is the Times of India-HuffPo marriage the right match or a mismatch? This isn’t going to be run by the TOI bosses at Bahadurshah Zafar Marg, but the boys and girls at Times Internet headed by Satyan Gajwani. So, things could well be different. But what happens when someone screws up in the paper or the channels or there’s a negative story in one of the various events that the group organises? We hope that there is no reason for such an eventuality, but given that there’s just too much at stake for The Times of India group in India, if things get too uncomfortable, no marks for guessing what will be given a go-by.

    But it would be fair to give Ms Huffington, Mr Satyan Gajwani and Mr Sruthijith a fair chance with the India edition of Huffington Post. Best wishes to them!

     

  • The PM's 100 days in office is all over the mass & social media. A view by Ranjona Banerji on how our media has treated (and been treated by) the new regime

    Modi in the Media

     

    By Ranjona Banerji

     

    100 days is now a media mantra when it comes to anything at all. Should one go as far to say that this has something to do with the title of a book written by Gabriel Garcia Marquez? Probably not. So we have to assess 100 days of the Narendra Modi government at the Centre. Not three months (which would be around 90 days) and not 200 days but perhaps we’ll re-assess the government at 365 days and call it one year?

    I put “100 days Modi government” into Google and got stories headlined around that theme, in order, from IBNLive, DNA, Indian Express, LiveMint, India Today, Hindustan Times, NDTV, Zee News, Times of India and Economic Times. So much for originality…

    Having decided to play “follow the leader” on the 100 days theme however it has to be admitted that all media outlets did not take the same line. Some gushed, some focused on the misses, some talked about hits and misses both, some spoke to the Opposition.

    The biggest takeaway from all this seems to be that Modi has made his ministers accountable. According to a fascinating story carried in Niticentral, a rightwing website, this has been achieved by spying on his own ministers.  http://www.niticentral.com/2014/08/25/narendra-modi-enforces-tough-discipline-among-ministers-236467.html.

    So the100 days theme runs like this: Modi has cut through plenty of slack, he has improved systems by making sure his own ministers work, he has travelled to many countries, he has not spoken enough, he has not made good on several other promises, some of the benefits accrued to his government come from UPA policies, he has renamed certain existing schemes, he has made an Independence Day speech, he has fed fish in Japan, he has stopped his party people from talking too much, he has stopped his ministers from speaking almost completely, he has got rid of several governors, he has sidelined the old-timers in the BJP, he has made his right-hand man Amit Shah party president…

    How much of this is remarkable and how much is pedestrian perhaps lies in the eyes of the believer. As TV news tries to jump from issue to manufactured outrage and print sprints to keep pace, we see a fractured image. There is a larger-than-life Modi in carefully posed pictures in foreign lands, we have a Modi who promises security for women and toilets for all, we have a Modi who says everyone must have a bank account.

    We have a BJP which launches a campaign in Uttar Pradesh claiming that hordes of Muslim men are conspiring to make Hindu women fall in love with them to convert them to Islam and thus increase the number of Muslims in the nation. We have BJP-run state governments and the Union HRD ministry trying to manipulate history. We have local BJP units and BJP allies pushing for India as a “Hindu” state. We have the RSS jumping in and claiming credit for Modi’s victory.

    And we have a media which is unable to put all these refracted elements together. So Gaurav Sawant of Headlines Today and a reporter from CNN-IBN got to Japan and behaved like no one has ever been to Japan before. They make ridiculously banal comments about Japanese trains, they comment on cleanliness. They say: “Look at these Japanese people sitting silently on a train.” “When will India ever have such clean stations?”

    What is this? A delegation of idiots goes to Japan? Where is Mark Twain when you need him? The tenuous connection is the promise of a bullet train in India made by Modi. The obsequious brainlessness of some TV journalists and presumably their editors will be part of an ignominious chapter in the history of Indian journalism.

    P S:

    Meanwhile, scroll.in tells us that Shekhar Gupta is no longer vice-chairman of the India Today group. He is now an “advisor”. This is a mere two months after he took over, having ended a long stint at The Indian Express.

    What gives at India Today? Is it family matters or recalcitrant employees? MJ Akbar didn’t last too long, Siddharth Vardarajan didn’t get further than signing a contract and Gupta is out in two months…

    http://scroll.in/article/shekhar-guptas-return-to-india-today-group-ends-in-two-months-to-take-advisory-position/?id=677005

     

  • The outgoing Indian Express editor-in-chief will Vice Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of all of the India Today group's news, business publications and news TV, digital brands. He will report to Mr Purie

    Shekhar Gupta to join India Today as Vice Chairman and Editor-in-Chief

    By A Correspondent

     

    It’s now official. Shekhar Gupta, who announced his exit from the Indian Express group with effect from June 15, returns to the India Today Group as Vice Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of all news, business publications and news TV, digital brands

     

    Announcing the appointment today, ITG Chairman Aroon Purie said: “This is a homecoming for Shekhar. He joined India Today in 1983 and was here for 12 eventful years during which he was an outstanding journalist. Shekhar is by far the best reporters’ editor in Indian journalism today. Because of his fierce independence and integrity, he attracts and inspires the finest talent, and I look forward to him bringing an entire ecosystem of excellence on editorial as well as corporate platforms.”

     

    Mr Gupta will also, in association with Mr Purie, launch a series of unique new editorial products that will showcase, 24 by 7, the finest in investigative reporting and interpretative commentary.

     

    “At a personal level, our friendship has grown as we have bounced ideas off each other about the rapid changes in our business,” said Mr Purie. “So Shekhar’s return is a moment of deep satisfaction and vindication of my belief, our shared belief, in the power of good journalism to help make sense of the noise rather than to add to it. Shekhar has also promised to liberate me from day-to-day operations so that I can work to guide the Group into a future of great promise, growth and excitement.”

     

    “It’s a privilege to have the opportunity,” said Mr Gupta, “to return to the India Today Group to work with Aroon and his fine teams and nurture the most trusted news brands. ITG, with its commitment to excellence and credibility, is best placed to meet the biggest challenge in our business today: to earn the trust and respect of our readers and viewers.”

     

    Mr Gupta will report to Mnr Purie and will be responsible for the editorial quality of all news and business brands. He will work closely with Ashish Bagga, Group CEO, and enable him to effectively grow readership and viewership profitably.