MxMIndia

Tag: Sunil Lulla

  • There is some history to the chemistry between Lulla and Singla

    Sunil Lulla is Chairman of Ashwani Singla’s Astrum

    By Our Staff

    Sunil Lulla
    Sunil Lulla

    On his first day as CEO of MTV India, he walked in with colour on his finger nails. Each one different, and bright. A former friend once told this writer that he wanted to buy the man some printed socks from Kuala Lumpur, given the man’s love for all things stylish. At the press conference for an entertainment channel – yes, a real one – that didn’t quite take off, he stood up the podium with the hair on the back of his painted red.

    And now Sunil Lulla is all set to add colour and style to Astrum, a PR and advocacy firm based in New Delhi NCR. Better known as its founder and Managing Partner Ashwani Singla’s agency, Astrum fashions itself as “India’s first science-based specialist Reputation Management advisory”. We don’t know that what means, but Astrum sure has had a fair good set of clients over the years.

    Ashwani Singla
    Ashwani Singla

    Lulla, a communique said, will play a vital role in strengthening Astrum’s capability as a trusted advisor to the C Suite and adding fuel to its growth engine. Said Singla: “For over two decades that I have known and worked with Sunil, I have admired how he combines strategic clarity with execution excellence to achieve extraordinary outcomes. Our clients and colleagues will benefit from his sage counsel and proven acumen.”

    “The impact of reputation, risk and regulation on business is a major pre-occupation of the C Suite and more so today; I am delighted to be a part of a team that has an enviable track record of helping CXOs successfully negotiate this landscape,” added Lulla.

    Lulla should know, having spent a lifetime in the media ecosystem. Eons at Wunderman Thompson’s earlier avatar of JWT, MTV (where he effected a turnaround), Sony Entertainment Television (not yet Sony-Zee), Times Network (yes, with Arnab Goswami), Indya.com (remember the Sunday Times of India roadblock?) for Pradeep Kar’s Microland, HMV (now SaReGaMa), Grey, Balaji Telefilms (yes, with Ekta Kapoor) and television audience measurement body BARC India, where he was tasked by the Board to undertake some cleansing operations.

    The role doesn’t appear to be a full-time one, and will be in addition to a slew of other projects Lulla is involved in as part of his firm Linus Adventures. Linus, btw, is Sunil spelt ulta.

    Lulla is an active runner (yes, a marathoner), loves swimming, working out in the gym, enjoys his movies, music and books, and if you are on his friend’s list, perhaps the first to greet you on your Big Days. And, yes, he is also good in mixology. 

    We don’t know how he is with mixing liquids. But the number of engagements and bosses he’s worked surely indicates he can mix things well. And Astrum is, as the communique claims, a “science-based” firm. 

    There is some history to the chemistry between Lulla and Singla (they known each and worked with each other for over two decades). Science, mixology… fireworks?!

  • Lulla will be on board wef April 4 and will work with the business until Dentsu India hires a permanent CEO. 

    Sunil Lulla joins Dentsu as Consultant Advisor for India

    By Our Staff

     

    Sunil Lulla
    Peter Huijboom
    Peter Huijboom

    Dentsu has announced the appointment of industry veteran Sunil Lulla as Consultant Advisor for India. Lulla will work closely with, and report into, Peter Huijboom, Interim CEO, Dentsu India to focus on driving business growth and activation in the market while continuing the search for the right candidate to lead the Dentsu India business. Lulla will be on board wef April 4 and will work with the business until Dentsu India hires a permanent CEO.

    Commenting on the appointment, Huijboom said: “Sunil is joining us at a critical time as we realise the benefits of our transformation through our integrated offering. He has had an impressive career with significant achievements in the businesses he has worked with, and I am looking forward to our partnership. We see significant opportunity in the India market and I am pleased with the momentum we are seeing. Sunil will continue to accelerate our growth trajectory while working with our teams to define, activate and ignite Dentsu’s winning culture in the market. It’s an exciting time to be at Dentsu India.”

    Added Lulla: “I am thrilled to participate in Denstu India’s growth and transformation journey. I could not refuse an opportunity to work with a business that is relentlessly focused on shaping their own business to help clients navigate the changing market context and pioneer a new way forward. I am excited to partner with Peter and build on the progress made with the leadership team, being a part of the team that works together to transform into the agency of tomorrow.”

    An MBA from SP Jain Institute, Lulla has spent long and successful years in advertising, broadcast and digital. He spent 11 years in JWT in India, China and Taiwan, three years at HMV (now Saregama), three years at MTV India which he turned around, a year at Diageo, two years at Indya.com, three years at Sony Entertainment and then eight years as CEO and MD of the Times Television Network. Later he spent nearly four years as CMD of Grey Group India before making the switch to Balaji where he was there for a year-and-a-half. He took charge as CEO of television audience measurement body BARC in October 2019.

  • The Linus Adventures will assist Promoters and CXOs scale their business and become leader brands

    Post-BARC, it’s Linus and more for Sunil Lulla

    By Our Staff

     

    As CEO Sunil Lulla said his final goodbyes at the BARC India headquarters in Central Mumbai, he was all set to make a switch from an ‘Employee Life’ to a ‘Portfolio Career’.

     

    The entrepreneurial journey includes:

    • The Linus Adventures which will assist Promoters and CXOs scale their business and become leader brands.

    • Being co-founder of a UAE-based EdTech start-up focussed on India and the MENA region

    • An active angel investor in early-stage start-ups across multiple domains.

     

    In addition, he will continue his support to the Children’s Movement for Civic Awareness (CMCA and hopes to learn a new way of running (known as Maximum Aerobic Function / Low Heart Rate whereby he can breathe smarter to successfully complete many a marathon and staying more refreshed).

     

    An MBA from SP Jain Institute, Lulla has spent long and successful years in advertising, broadcast and digital before he took charge at BARC in October 2019. He spent 11 years in JWT in India, China and Taiwan, three years at HMV (now Saregama), three years at MTV India which he turned around, a year at Diageo, two years at Indya.com, three years at Sony Entertainment and then eight years as CEO and MD of the Times Television Network. Later he spent nearly four years as CMD of Grey Group India before making the switch to Balaji where he was there for a year-and-a-half.

     

    It may be recalled that Lulla had announced his decision to move on from BARC last week. Fellow advertising agency captain Nakul Chopra took charge at the television audience measurement company today (August 25).

     

  • Has been Chairman and Board Member of BARC India in the past

    It’s official. Nakul Chopra to take charge as BARC CEO wef Aug 25

    By Our Staff

     

    Broadcast Audience Research Council India (BARC), the Indian television industry’s audience measurement body has announced that Nakul Chopra will be its new Chief Executive Officer effective August 25, 2021. Sunil Lulla has resigned his remit to pursue his ambition as an entrepreneur.

     

    Interestingly, Chopra was part of the BARC India Board in 2016 and was subsequently appointed Chairman of the body in 2018-19. In January 2020, he was appointed a member of its Oversight Committee. Chopra was CEO, India and South Asia of Publicis Worldwide, for over a decade. He was also President, Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) from August 2016 to July 2018. AAAI is 20% owner of BARC.

     

    Speaking on his appointment, Chopra said: “I have had the benefit of a long association with BARC. The organisation has grown in measure and strength. TV continues to be the definitive screen of the Indian home – its strong reach and connect continues to elicit the trust of advertisers. I look forward to working with the very capable BARC team in further building on TV measurement and continuing the journey toward screen agnostic measurement.”

     

    Sunil Lulla
    Punit Goenka
    Punit Goenka

    Added Lulla: “After four decades of an exciting career in professional services, I now embark upon an entrepreneurial journey. I am privileged to have been able to contribute to BARC and this has been possible only because of the excellent team of professionals, a very supportive Board and the gold standard of Board-appointed committees. I wish Nakul Chopra all the success”.

     

    Said Punit Goenka, Chairman, BARC India, thanking Lulla and welcoming Chopra: “I thank Sunil for his stewardship of BARC and his efforts to enhance the strength of the BARC currency. I am very happy to welcome Nakul as the natural and unanimous choice of the Board for the continuing journey of adding robustness to the BARC currency and strengthening the governance of the world’s largest television audience measurement body”.

     

     

     

  • RIP, Indu Jain. Conscience-keeper + Tribute by Sunil Lulla

    Picture courtesy Twitter. Copyright unknown

    Bennett, Coleman and Company Limited chairperson Indu Jain passed away late on Thursday evening after a Covid-related situation. She was 84. Ms Jain will be best remembered in the Indian media for her contribution to ensure that one of the largest and most successful media organisations in the country that she owned and spearheaded with her two sons – Samir and Vineet – also had a purpose. She is widely regarded as the conscience-keeper of the media empire, and helped mainstream spirituality and world peace into the newspapers her group ran. Our deepest condolences to the Sahu Jain family, specifically her sons, and the large number of people -—in the media and outside of it — whose lives she touched, and impacted.

    We invited Mr Sunil Lulla, CEO, BARC India, who has spent nearly a decade with BCCL and had a strong linkages with Ms Jain, to share a short tribute. 

     

    Spiritual Angel, Ms Indu Jain. A Tribute

     

    Sunil Lulla

    My life is privileged to be touched by the Spiritual Angel , whom we called Mataji and sometimes Chairperson – Ms Indu Jain. I was a latecomer to the Times group, where most have spent a few decades mastering the craft Times teaches so well.

     

    She was very enthusiastic in supporting the new/ to-be-started television network  with the rapid acquisition and build out of a generous studio space, in Mumbai.  Her passion has always been to  spread positivity messaging, be it in news or  via music to the youth. She understood the business compulsions and marketplace needs. In balance, she actively encouraged and facilitated by inviting her wise associates Sri Sri Ravishankar  and Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev to spread their contemporary and positive message of well-being to millions of viewers.

     

    She bought balance to the space of heated debate and pulsating music in her own sagacious and peaceful way. When she learnt the architects had not followed the right protocol in the construction of the studio and office, she wisely suggested changes. As she stated, the right light, the right direction, sets the tone of success. I have always believed her action gave wings to the success of the Times Television Network.

     

    She will remain Mataji – forever. May her soul rest in peace.

    Sunil Lulla

    Chief Executive Officer

    BARC India

  • BARC India releases ‘TV Universe Estimates 2020’. Number of TV viewing individuals is pegged at 892 million

    Total TV Owning Households grow 6.9% to reach 210mn

     

    By Our Staff

    Television measurement body Broadcast Audience Research Council India (BARC India), has released its TV Universe Estimates 2021 (TV UE).

    According to BARC India’s TV UEs 2020, 210 mn Indian households now own a TV set, an increase of 6.9% from 197 Mn in 2018. Simultaneously, TV viewing individuals also witnessed an increase of 6.7%, reaching 892 Mn from 836 Mn in 2018, an increase of 57 million individuals in 2020. TV Owning female population grew by 7%, while male population grew by 6%. In terms of age-groups, the highest growth was witnessed in the “kids” category (age 2 to 14) at 9%.

    Meanwhile, TV households in Urban markets grew by 4% from 87.8 Mn in 2018 to 91 Mn while Rural markets have grown by 9%, up from 108.9 Mn to 119.2 Mn in 2020. While TV households across India grew by 6.9%, HSM grew by 8% outpacing All India as well as the South states which grew by 5%.

     

    NCCS

    As the Indian population continues to move up the socio-economic pyramid, changes are also observed in the NCCS profile of TV households. As per the TV UE-2020, the proportion of NCCS A and B has increased to 27% and 31% respectively while NCCS DE has further contracted to 9% of TV households in the country.

     

    Sunil Lulla

    On presenting the updated TV Universe Estimates for broadcasters, advertisers, agencies and other industry stakeholders, Sunil Lulla, Chief Executive Officer, BARC India, said, “As a body that is deeply rooted in data science, BARC India is committed to providing its stakeholders with a true representation of the television universe. We are happy we have been able to ascertain that television continues to be the screen of choice for Indians. With an additional 13 Mn TV households and an opportunity for another 90 Mn households that are yet to own a TV set, India’s broadcast ecosystem continues to have a significant potential for growth in the years to come.”

     

    Dr Derrick Gray

    Added Dr Derrick Gray, Chief of Measurement Science & Business Analytics, BARC India: “At BARC India, we are deeply invested in providing data that is statistically accurate by factoring in changes in the various “control and weighting variables” that are shown to be highly associated with television viewing. The updated Universe Estimates, UE 2020 aptly sums up India’s linear TV ecosystem and highlights that TV owning households continue to grow. Given the global pandemic scenario, the updated estimate is robust and is developed with the help of data and findings based from various previously validated field studies. We are certain that these estimates will help the industry to a great extent. We will continue to provide the industry with a currency that is reliable and of global standards. I would like to thank the TechComm on behalf of all of us for all their support and contributions in formalising the UE 2020.”

     

    TV UE 2020 has been developed by computingthe Linear growth of TV Households and TV Individuals from Broadcast India (BI) Studies conducted in 2016 and 2018at geographic and demographic levels. The distribution of the TV population by NCCS was taken from the most recent Indian Readership Survey (IRS). BARC India will implement the findings from the TV Universe Estimates 2020 for its data starting Week 14, 2021, which will release on April 16, 2021 (that’s tomorrow). While an establishment survey as a part of Broadcast India (BI) 2021 is also currently underway, the updated estimates will reflect for BARC India subscribers in the YUMI Analytics platform with immediate effect.

     

    For more: BARC India TV Universe Estimates 2020

     

  • Total TV Viewership grew 9% y-o-y, and ATS upped 20 minutes in 2020, as per BARC India’s just-released Yearbook

    In Lockdown Year, Non-Primetime Viewership Leapfrogs

     

    By Our Staff

     

    Television audience measurement company BARC India (short for Broadcast Audience Research Council, India) launched the third edition of its annual Yearbook titled The Year After Two Thousand & Nineteen.

     

    Here are some of the highlights from the volume:

    · Non-Prime Time (NPT) Viewership for General Entertainment Channels (GEC), News and Kids, grew by 16%, 26% and 31% respectively in 2020 compared to 2019.

    > Ad Volumes grew by 34% in 2nd half of 2020 compared to 1st half of 2020.

    > Top 10 Advertising sectors contributed 80% to Total Ad Volumes in 2020

    > Communication by the Government was on an upsurge during lockdown. Ad Volumes for Govt. messaging grew by 184% (2.7 times) during Apr-June 2020 compared to same period in 2019.

    · Mythological Classics like Ramayan & Mahabharat made a comeback on our TV screens, Week 13, 2020 onwards. Ramayana now holds the record of the most watched TV program in the world!

    · Driven by the classics, advertisers placed their bets on DD’s GECs during lockdown. Ad Volumes for DD’s GECs grew by 62% in Apr-June quarter of 2020 compared to the same period in 2019.

    · IPL-13 viewership grew by 23% compared to IPL-12 with 400 Bn Total Viewing Minutes.

    · The Opening match between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings at Abu Dhabi, was the most viewed with 11.2 Billion Viewing Minutes.

     

     

    Said Sunil Lulla, Chief Executive Officer, BARC India: Commenting on the launch of the Yearbook: “The year was a consolidation and reaffirmation year for television in India. It was marked by a substantial increase in TV viewership with total TV growing by 9% and Ad Volumes experiencing a staggering growth of 34% in the second half. 2020 reaffirmed the strength of television as a medium in India amongst both viewers and advertisers, proving TV is indeed the screen of choice for the household. TV continues to grow with regional markets gaining prominence. BARC India will continue to work towards our vision, to always be the trusted source of authentic measurement and reporting of “What India Watches’”.

     

    Added a communique: “TV played a significant role in keeping people connected with the outside world during the lockdown. Consequently, TV Viewership witnessed a growth of 23% during Mid-March to June (Week 11-26) as compared to the January to early March period (Week 1-10).”

     

     

  • TechComm will review process and take 8-12 weeks to come up with a report on niche genres ratings

    Ratings Bandh! BARC to stop releasing viewership data for individual news channels

     

    By Pradyuman Maheshwari

    [updated with News Broadcasters Federation story link]

     

    Ring-a-ring-a Ratings,

    A mess-up full of claims,

    Yeh Dishoom, Yeh Dishoom!

    We all fall down

     

    Pardon this hurriedly written parody of everyone’s favourite nursery rhyme by a friend. But kya karein. C’est la vie.

    As we wrote last week, ask anyone associated with the television broadcast business, and they’ll tell you how news channels are the Indian television measurement business’ Achilles’ heel. However advanced the measurement craft, successive regimes in the TV measurement business have experienced testing times thanks to the mess dealing with the news business. Plus the penchant to run to the government, and complain. “Uncle, uncle, see this guy is acting very funny.” Not funny at all.

    It happened with the previous ratings body TAM. NDTV took it court, and that eventually led to TAM losing its measurement business, its mojo. And this despite all the might of then co-owners WPP and Nielsen.

    Then BARC happened, it was all hunky-dory in the early days. NDTV was still not high on the ratings roster. But soon enough the news biggies started getting tough on the BARC bosses.

    But we aren’t batting for BARC and TAM. Ask the newswallahs. They too will cite various reasons for being upset with things. With reason. After all when your ratings are low, despite the belief and in actuality you are doing a good job.

    The final straw was the ratings controversy of last week. Mumbai Police Commissioner’s declaration that threw in Republic’s name for allegedly rigging ratings, and Republic’s expose of an FIR naming India Today.

    Conventional wisdom would say that it’s not right to base stories on allegations by folks or FIRs. They are not based on any investigations and chargesheets. Or even court orders. But, darlings, that’s conventional wisdom. We are talking of the news business.

    Over the last week, there is been a bloodbath. Unfortunately. Some media companies haven’t fallen short of anything. Arnab Goswami is being painted as Villain #1. There are many who don’t like his journalism. There are many who think he’s too pro-BJP and the Narendra Modi government. But then there are issues with many others too.

    This report is not an attempt to list the kind of stories which news channels keep doing. And their editorial stance.

    It’s about the decision that BARC has taken. In the light of the recent developments, the BARC Board has proposed that its Technical Committee (Tech Comm) review and augment the current standards of measuring and reporting the data of niche genres, to improve their statistical robustness and to significantly hamper the  potential attempts of infiltrating the panel homes. This exercise would cover all Hindi, Regional, English News and business news channels with immediate effect.

    Therefore, starting with the ‘News Genre’, BARC will cease publishing the weekly individual ratings for all news channels during the exercise. This exercise is expected to take around 8-12 weeks including validation and testing under the supervision of BARC’s Tech Comm. BARC will continue to release weekly audience estimates for the genre of news by state and language. So no individual numbers.

    Explaining the need for this move, Punit Goenka, Chairman of BARC India Board said: “Given the most recent developments, the BARC Board was of the opinion that a pause was necessitated to enable the industry and BARC to work closely to review its already stringent protocols and further augment them to enable the industry to focus on collaborating for growth and well-natured competitiveness”.

    Added  Sunil Lulla, CEO, BARC India: “We at BARC take our role in truthfully and faithfully reporting ‘What India Watches’ with the greatest sense of responsibility and work with integrity to ensure that our audience estimates (ratings) remain true to their purpose”. He added: “Besides augmenting current protocols and benchmarking them with global standards, BARC is actively exploring several options to discourage unlawful inducement of its panel home viewers and further strengthening its Code of Conduct to Address Viewership Malpractice”.

    Meanwhile, the News Broadcasters Association has welcomed the 12-week suspension of TV ratings. NBA, which represents a large section of news broadcasters – but not the entire universe of news channels, believes that the suspension is an important step in the right direction. [update: News Broadcasters Federation has opposed the BARC move. Please read: https://www.mxmindia.com/2020/10/daggers-drawn-nbf-opposes-barc-move-says-it-wasnt-consulted-on-ratings-pause]

    Said Rajat Sharma, President, NBA: “Recent revelations have brought disrepute to the measurement agency and by extension the broadcast news media. The corrupted, compromised, irrationally fluctuating data is creating a false narrative on What India Watches and has been putting pressure on our members to take editorial calls that run counter to the journalistic values and ideals of journalism. The current atmosphere of toxicity, abuse and fake news is no longer tenable and NBA as the custodian and guardian of Indian broadcast media believes a bold step of putting ratings of news genre on hold will help in improving the content. For many years NBA has been highlighting its concerns about the veracity of TV viewership data, which have been prone to irrational fluctuations. Recent events have shown that there is much more at stake than just the measurement of news channels’ popularity. Indeed, a healthy and vibrant TV news industry is vital to Indian democracy. We expect that the period of suspension will be utilised to implement important reforms at BARC. To safeguard the integrity of viewership data, human intervention in its collection and processing must be totally eliminated. Data security, including encryption and restricting access to key information, must be ensured. Complaints, if any, should be dealt with in an independent and transparent manner. NBA also expects greater consultation and openness when important decisions are taken by BARC.”

    What led to this? Loads of things. The last straw was the expose, the threat of government intervention, and the summoning of media agency network stalwarts for an intense conversation with the Mumbai. Madison World CEO Sam Balsara is said to have spent seven-and-a-half hours with the cops. IPG Mediabrands CEO Shashi Sinha and GroupM CEO Prasanth Kumar some 4.5-5 hours. All on Saturday, when many of us may have been taking it easy with a siesta.

    So what happens now? You couldn’t have invested so much time reading this just to get the same stuff that’s on other platforms. It’s a win-win for everyone. But only prima facie. Channels that are doing well currently will be stay on top in terms of perception. So Advantage Republic TV and Republic Bharat. Not too much of a disadvantage for the others who are getting the revenues – like Aaj Tak and the other leaders of the pack. For those which are emerging or getting out of the woods, the absence of ratings is a setback.

    That something needs to be done with the ratings has been spoken about by TAM and BARC in the past. LV Krishnan will tell you that. As will Partho Dasgupta. And now Sunil Lulla will as well. But folks like Goswami and some others are said to have been opposed to the idea. The leader after all wants it to be known that s/he is the leader.

    And what does it mean for BARC? Some peace of mind. Messrs Lulla & Co can sleep those extra 10 minutes every day, and 20 on a Thursday, the day ratings are published. Also, as a wag said: Even if news channels were to go out of BARC’s measurement it would mean 10 per cent revenue gone but 90 per cent of the problems as well.

     

     

  • Genre Level Ratings, by State and Language to Continue

    BARC to pause ratings of news channels

    By A Correspondent

    (this story is based on two communiques… propah report coming up)

     

    In the light of the recent developments, BARC Board has proposed that its Technical Committee (Tech Comm) review and augment the current standards of measuring and reporting the data of niche genres, to improve their statistical robustness and to significantly hamper the  potential attempts of infiltrating the panel homes. This exercise would cover all Hindi, Regional, English News and Business News channels with immediate effect.

     

    Therefore, starting with the ‘News Genre’, BARC will cease publishing the weekly individual ratings for all news channels during the exercise. This exercise is expected to take around 8-12 weeks including validation and testing under the supervision of BARCs Tech Comm. BARC will continue to release weekly audience estimates for the genre of news by state and language.

     

    Explaining the need for this move, Punit Goenka, Chairman of BARC India Board said, “Given the most recent developments, the BARC Board was of the opinion that a pause was necessitated to enable the industry and BARC to work closely to review its already stringent protocols and further augment them to enable the industry to focus on collaborating for growth and well-natured competitiveness”.

     

    Added  Sunil Lulla, CEO, BARC India: “We at BARC take our role in truthfully and faithfully reporting ‘What India Watches’ with the greatest sense of responsibility and work with integrity to ensure that our audience estimates (ratings) remain true to their purpose”. He added, “besides augmenting current protocols and benchmarking them with global standards, BARC is actively exploring several options to discourage unlawful inducement of its panel home viewers and further strengthening its Code of Conduct to Address Viewership Malpractice”.

     

    Meanwhile, the News Broadcasters Association has welcomed the 12-week suspension of TV ratings. NBA, which represents a large section of news broadcasters, believes that the suspension is an important step in the right direction.

    Said Rajat Sharma, President, NBA: “Recent revelations have brought disrepute to the measurement agency and by extension the broadcast news media. The corrupted, compromised, irrationally fluctuating data is creating a false narrative on What India Watches and has been putting pressure on our members to take editorial calls that run counter to the journalistic values and ideals of journalism. The current atmosphere of toxicity, abuse and fake news is no longer tenable and NBA as the custodian and guardian of Indian broadcast media believes a bold step of putting ratings of news genre on hold will help in improving the content. For many years NBA has been highlighting its concerns about the veracity of TV viewership data, which have been prone to irrational fluctuations. Recent events have shown that there is much more at stake than just the measurement of news channels’ popularity. Indeed, a healthy and vibrant TV news industry is vital to Indian democracy. We expect that the period of suspension will be utilised to implement important reforms at BARC. To safeguard the integrity of viewership data, human intervention in its collection and processing must be totally eliminated. Data security, including encryption and restricting access to key information, must be ensured. Complaints, if any, should be dealt with in an independent and transparent manner. NBA also expects greater consultation and openness when important decisions are taken by BARC.”

  • If channel-owners don’t end this all-out war, advertisers may pull out and the government will interfere in their content, writes Pradyuman Maheshwari

    Peace or Perish!

     

    [updated with India Today Group quote & Republic TV statement]

    By Pradyuman Maheshwari

     

    Ask present and past TV audience measurement professionals who or what is pulling down the reputation of their business, the response would be an emphatic: news channels.

     

    TAM, a joint venture of Nielsen and Kantar (then owned by WPP and now majority owned by Bain), lost its measurement contracts from broadcasters, advertisers and agencies thanks essentially to news channels warring against it. Premier news network NDTV took TAM to court over allegations of faulty data, and this hastened the effort to set up the joint industry owned body Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC). Eventually TAM sold its measurement business to BARC.

     

    Like TAM in the past, the BARC team faced turbulent times from the news channels, and in a letter to the BARC chairman Punit Goenka, the News Broadcasters Association (NBA) is said to have expressed its reservations about the BARC leadership of the past.

     

    There are murmurs that BARC CEO Sunil Lulla too has experienced some angst from news channels.

     

    The problem is always with ratings. That some of the channels have deep political connections makes matters worse. So every time there is a peeve, news channels flock to the I&B minister for intervention. In the past, matters have also gone to Parliament and there have been committees set up to examine nuances of the business. And if it’s not the law-makers who assert themselves, it’s regulator Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) which intervenes.

     

    Frankly, the government ought not to have role in the business of news television. Except for running its own Doordarshan news channels, its publicity department DAVP which doles out advertising and monitoring objectionable content and addressing the media on issues and make announcements.

     

    But by running to the government often, channel owners have invited the ministers and bureaucracy to step into a territory which they shouldn’t be treading on.

     

    For instance, BARC’s weekly viewership data ensures that advertisers and the agencies make wise media buying decisions. It also helps broadcasters and content-makers better their content, sales and marketing act.

     

    But the ecosystem dominated by broadcasters inflicted on itself the government’s intervention (or interference?) and got BARC to be governed by a set of rules and regulations.

     

    There’s nothing new with what happened on Thursday. It occurred when TAM was around and it’s taken place under the BARC regime. There has been pilferage of information on the placement of set-top boxes, but the machinery is well-oiled to issue alerts when necessary.

     

    That’s what happened when Hansa Research, one of BARC’s vendors on engagement with panel homes, alerted the police about a mess up.

     

    Was Republic named in any written complaint? We don’t know. An FIR shared with MxM has a mention made of the India Today channel. Both Republic and India Today (by way of a report on the site) have presented their points of view.

     

    What we did find last night was various channels shaming Republic TV and founder, editor-in-chief and managing director Arnab Goswami. Newspaper reports today – owned by media companies which also run news channels as well as a few others – have also named Republic and Goswami prominently. The reference to other channels and India Today has been understated or is missing.

     

    So when did it all start? The war of words and ratings began even when Goswami was with Times Now. The channel was doing exceedingly well, on the back of the heated debates that it would air.

     

    But when Goswami quit the Times Network to start Republic, the daggers were pulled out from all directions. All sides are to blame. Times Now had its issues with Goswami for quitting, hiring some ex-staffers and making no bones of the fact that he was taking on his former employer. The others got on to the act the moment Republic shot to #1 in the ratings roster. ‘News without Noise’, became India Today’s credo.

     

    Various attempts were made to isolate Republic, including the rest of the news channels pulling out their watermarks so as to boycott BARC. On its part, Republic too countered the others – and compared its ratings with that of the others. Nothing wrong with it, except that the comparison was accompanied by much bombast. Surefire formula to rile others.

     

    But the war took on a new turn when Goswami launched Republic Bharat. While English news channels are influential and earn fair monies, the real bucks is in Hindi news. Aaj Tak, ABP News, Zee News have been raking in the moolah over the years. While Bharat made its presence felt, it didn’t create much of a dent until the Covid-19 pandemic-led lockdown happened and the Arnab Goswami brand of hyper-aggressive, right of centre journalism took over.

     

    And then came the controversy around actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death. The line that Republic Bharat took on the controversy ensured it was numero uno. And not just for one week, but for now many weeks.

     

    Advertisement buying decisions are not taken in a hurry, but buoyed by its success, Republic Bharat has hiked its ad rates.

     

    On Thursday evening, the Mumbai police commissioner named Republic TV based on what appear to be unverified complaints and allegations. Later, on its primetime bulletin, Republic TV showed scans of the FIR naming India Today. The joint commissioner of police is reported on the India Today website stating that while India Today was named in the FIR, neither the accused nor the witnesses supported the claim. “On the contrary, the accused and witnesses are specifically mentioning the names of Republic TV…”

     

    The India Today Group issued a statement late on Friday: “There is a malicious campaign on right now by a few vested interests to drag the name of the India Today Group into the TRP scandal that broke out on October 8, 2020,” adding: “We welcome any probe the police may wish to conduct and are fully confident that we will come out unscathed as we have not acted in any inappropriate manner. What we have right now is nothing but malicious, unsubstantiated allegations by a vested party.”

     

    Republic TV has taken on the Maharashtra government and Police Commssioner Param Bir Singh over the last few months in Sushant Singh Rajput case. Meanwhile, Goswami has threatened to sue Singh.

     

    So what next on this? The news channels business in India is a divided house. There is the News Broadcasters Association (NBA) which comprises most of the big players operating nationally and there’s News Broadcasters Federation (NBF) which is spearheaded by Goswami and Republic. Recently TV9 pulled out of the NBA with the association lodging a complaint with BARC saying that the network had used unfair means to forge ahead on the ratings roster. The network is now back as its member.

     

    Singh was quoted on a channel saying that advertisers may also be called for interrogation. So will Amul managing director R S Sodhi have to make the rounds of the commissioner’s office? Perhaps he will be. Will media agency network bosses Prasanth Kumar of GroupM and Shashi Sinha of IPG Mediabrands also be questioned by the cops? If Sodhi is, surely Kumar and Sinha will be called in.

     

    It suits the government perfectly well to have channels warring each other. But if the police summons advertisers and agency bosses for questioning, there could be trouble. Large, pedigreed advertisers would prefer to stay away from the murky world of news television. Channel owners would do well to smoke the piece pipe.

     

    If warring countries and corporates can get together, surely Arnab Goswami and Rajdeep Sardesai can.

     

    Updates:

     

    Media agency bosses Sam Balsara, Shashi Sinha and Prasanth Kumar have been called to the police station for seeking information. So these may not be summons, but a request from the cops is never for a chat about the weather. There are rumours that names of certain advertisers have also been handed over to the police.

     

    The Republic Media Network has issued a press release: https://www.republicworld.com/india-news/general-news/full-news-release-from-republic-media-network.html. “The Republic Media Network has approached the Honourable Supreme Court of India. We have served notices of our legal action to the Maharashtra Government as well. While we will follow the law, we are determined to seek a legal remedy against this atrocious witchhunt,” the release says.

     

     

    Although Pradyuman Maheshwari is Editor-in-Chief and CEO of MxMIndia, the views here are personal and are not necessarily that of MxMIndia. He can be reached via Twitter at @pmahesh. A version of this has also appeared on The Wire at The ‘TRP Scam’ Could Open the Doors for the Government to Enter the Picture

     

     

  • Data release for Week 34, 2020, data starting August 22, 2020, which has been released today (Sep 3) reflects the new initiative

    BARC India to mitigate landing page impact

    By A Correspondent

     

    BARC India has introduced algorithms into its data validation method to mitigate the impact of landing page on viewership data across all genres of channels, a major peeve with a section of broadcasters especially in the news category. Data release for Week 34, 2020, data starting August 22, 2020, which has been released today (Sep 3) reflects the new initiative.

     

    Said Dr Derrick Gray, Chief of Measurement Science & Business Analytics, BARC India: “The results of hundreds of hours of research and several months of rigorous development and testing are very promising. BARC India will now be able to mitigate any landing page anomaly to better reflect viewer’s choice,” adding: “The existing method was based on symptomatic statistics and we have improved upon it with a method that directly uses inferential statistics to deliver better results across all genres”

     

    Complimenting the efforts of Dr. Gray and his team, Sunil Lulla, CEO, BARC India added: “Considering that the data provided by BARC India builds the currency of the advertising trade, we consistently strive to ensure that our data capture, representation and reporting be as scientific and accurate as possible. This new validation rule will further strengthen the rating currency and provide a level playing field to small and large broadcasters.”

     

    Said Nakul Chopra, member Oversight Committee and the BARC India Board about the ‘Data Validation Quality Initiative’,  “The ‘Data Validation Quality Initiative’ instituted by BARC India in June 2019 under the supervision of the Oversight Committee involves ongoing industry stakeholder consultations and internal reviews to identify dynamic improvement needed to continue strengthening the robustness of its ratings”.

     

     

  • A freewheeling chat with Partho Dasgupta, the former big boss of Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) and now a management consultant

    Reminiscing the BARC set-up days

    Partho Dasgupta: Screengrab from Video

     

     

     

     

     

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    Over the last five-odd years MxMIndia would’ve done over a hundred-odd stories on television audience measurement and central to all of them was Partho Dasgupta, former CEO of BARC India.

     

    Dasgupta joined BARC in June 2013 and in November last year handed over operations to his friend and former colleague, Sunil Lulla.

     

    He is now using his experience and learnings to various places in the world, setting up BARC-like entities as an expert. He is also consulting broadcast and new media companies as a management consultant. And overseeing performance management. He of course continues to be President of the Advertising Club.

     

    Earlier this week, we interviewed Sunil Lulla, CEO, BARC India on the eve of its fifth anniversary. We now speak with Partho Dasgupta, the former CEO of BARC India and get him to reminisce the days before operations began on April 29, 2015.