MxMIndia

Tag: Times Now

  • 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

     

  • Based out of Mumbai, he will report to MK Anand, MD & CEO, Times Network

    Times Now appoints Rahul Shivshankar as Chief Editor

    By A Correspondent

     

    Rahul Shivshankar

    Times Network has announced the appointment of Rahul Shivshankar as its Chief Editor at Times Now. This would be Shivshankar’s second stint with the network after a gap of around six years.  He assumed office yesterday (Dec 15).

     

    Meanwhile, Hector Kenneth Kumar who had moved to NewsX earlier this year, is back at Times Now as Executive Editor. Navika Kumar is reported to be appointed Managing Editor.

     

    In his new role, Shivshankar will lead the editorial team and will work closely with the business and leadership teams to ensure that the channel grows significantly and profitably. Based out of Mumbai, he will directly report to MK Anand, MD & CEO, Times Network.

     

    Said Anand: “We are confident that the vast knowledge and domain expertise which he brings with him will hold Times Now in good stead and reaffirm the channel’s leadership position in the market.”  Commenting on his new role, Shivshankar said, “This is my second stint with Times Now and it’s more like a homecoming. Leading a channel that has already set a very high benchmark is always a challenge. I look forward to taking on this mantle and hope to help Times Network achieve our objectives.”

     

    In a career spanning almost 20 years, Shivshankar has served as Editor In Chief of NewsX where he was employed until last month, Executive Editor of Headlines Today (TV Today Network) and as Senior Editor of Times Now. He has also worked for the editorial page of The Times of India.

     

  • It was only possible with the support of a media organisation like Times Now. Arnab could not have been Arnab without it, writes Sanjeev Kotnala

    Sanjeev Kotnala: Arnab Goswani, the Newshour is over but Picture Abhi Baaki hai Dost.. The game has just begun

    By Sanjeev Kotnala

     

    I always hated the Newshour with Arnab Goswami on Times Now. And as I look back, maybe I hated this person called AG routinely playing right. Doing what many of us would have wanted to be doing but are too afraid to do.

    As I write this article with today’s debate in the background, I see a softer smiling Arnab Goswami telling the panelist ‘I have come after few days, that does not mean you can walk all over me’. It seems he has read the viewers mind. Maybe celebrating his own freedom to turn entrepreneur (that’s most likely), for a change, he took a backseat at times and allowed people more than 13 seconds of free speech. A sign that Newshour is changing even as he conducts his favourite game tonight. It will never be same!

    With Arnab pulling himself back for few moments, the Newshour on Times Now is as bad as any other news channel.

    The passion continues, and you can see it right there on the screen. However, the voice is a bit slow in its famed rebukes. Is that an emotional not-in-control Arnab going through the notion. I am sure; it is not the case. On the cue, slowly, the martyr and nationalistic emotions make him warm up. I am liking this guy; I always hated.

    Frankly, I never could stand what was going on by the name of debate. However, as a person interested in branding and running specialised workshops on ‘Brand-I’, there was always that dose of admiration and awe.

    Arnab was the Baba Ramdev of Times Now. One who has brought the back of the pack on to the limelight? One does not make sense without the other. Both of them were driving changes in their area, in process redefining and repainting the canvas they operate in.

    There are clearly defined boxes that only Arnab could tick.

    A classic case of clear positioning, something very rare in the media world.

    A well-defined promise of against anti-nationalist.

    A well created platform of nationalism and patriotism.

    A rich consistency in performance.

    A polarity in response from stakeholders. You could love or hate him but never could be neutral to his style and work.

    The ‘Y Security’ and threats were part that game along the path he decided to walk.

    Arnab is a classic example of a person deliberately, consciously and successfully creating a BRAND-i. There was never a contender to what he was creating. And I doubt if there will be.

    It was not a Newshour or debate; it was Arnab style of debate and journalism. The Newshour was just an external face of all the changes he was doing and the culture of journalism he was proposing.

    It was only possible with the support of a media organisation like Times Now. Arnab could not have been Arnab without it. But, Times Now … the question will remain unanswered and hypothetical.

    It allowed him the freedom to help him ensure that there was hardly any gap between the promise and delivery ‘Brand-i-Arnab’, between how he thought he was performing and how the outsiders saw him performing.

    A true iconic role model in many ways.

    Many want to be the next Arnab Goswami, unfortunately there never will be.

    Newshour will not be the same at Times Now.

    The next innings will be the real test of Brand Arnab Goswami.

    Remember, the audiences have a very fickle memory.

    It does not take long for the needs, demands and desire of the nation to swing a different way.

    Arnab has the giant backing of viewers because of his nationalistic, patriotic, no-nonsense approach. At least on his hour, he seemed to believe in transparency, openness and very demanding interrogative journalism.

    There are many like me who hate his apparent direct confrontation with pre-conceived notions. And there are many who applaud when he accepts his error (which is rare) or slams a politician for not respecting family members of a martyr or speaking frivolously to a lady panelist.

    Somehow, I have a feeling (and I wish) it does not happen with Arnab, who seems to be an otherwise sane voice demanding a space for individualistic independent journalism.

    However, the statement that Newshour on Times Now is not going to be the same for sure, is like a broken record. The organization is expected to tide over this hitch and serve the Nation something they would want to watch. .

    Meanwhile, there are some in the businesses around feeling relived temporarily. There still remains a mystery on why Arnab said Tata to the channel and who are his future partners.

    In true Arnab style, though the nation wants to know, what made him exit and what he plans to do, it will be told only when he is ready to share.

    His future actions and success with definitely be built around the passion and the support that he gets into the act, he puts up.

    Arnab Goswani, Yeh toh Trailer Hour the News Hour is over. Picture Abhi Baaki hai Dost.

     

  • While Times Now will find the going tough without Arnab Goswami, can the mega-editor manage with Times Now… an analysis

    Will Times Now survive without Arnab Goswami?

     

    By Pradyuman Maheshwari

     

    Let’s face it. Times Now = Arnab Goswami. And Arnab Goswami = Times Now

    We may add as ‘as of now’ for both the equations. For, all of that’s going to change. Soon.

    Goswami has quit Times Now.

    We still don’t have an official confirmation from Times Network, but there’s reason to believe that his resignation has been accepted. News organisations – the best of them – are not known to practise what they preach: be transparent about what’s happening within, dismissing them as an internal matter.

    The question is will Times Now survive without Arnab Goswami?

    Despite being around for over a decade, with a near-eight-year domination of the ratings roster, the channel has not built a quality second level.

    It’s not that we haven’t seen similar situations in the past. When Rajdeep Sardesai quit NDTV, there was just a dent, but the impact was more significant when he exited CNN-IBN. In the case of CNN-IBN though, Sardesai had built a reasonably good third line.

    CNN-IBN did take a beating for a while, but it survived and has been doing well. It’s reasonably independent, despite all the fears of being owned by the Mukesh Ambani business empire.

    At a much larger level, similar existential questions were asked if the Congress and India could survive without Indira Gandhi. Or would Reliance survive after Dhirubhai Ambani. Etc etc. The Congress rebuilt itself, and even if there were some hiccups when the brothers split, it’s been a smoothsail for the Reliances.

    But things are a little different for Times Now and television. Last year, MxMIndia carried an analysis based on BARC numbers on how Times Now ratings fall when Arnab is absent.

    It needed an interview with the Prime Minister to get CNN-IBN to beat Times Now. But it’s back to playing second-fiddle all-India.  An India Today and NDTV 24×7 are around, but despite the presence of some top names and talent, the numbers aren’t good enough to surpass Times Now.

    The reason for this is that the public at large hasn’t found the content on other channels engaging enough. Will they now gain because Times Now would be minus its megastar? Also, how will all of this impact Times Now’s revenues? Will advertisers desert the channel’s primetime or stop paying the premium that they so readily paid?

    While Times Now will find the going tough without Arnab Goswami, can the mega-editor manage with Times Now?

    It’s not going to be easy. There are very few media organisations in the country which back you up as well as the Times of India group. Plus it’s got the media muscle. The only way a new entity can get the masses glued – even if it’s in urban centres – is if it’s got deeeeeep pockets.

    We should know through the day if Arnab Goswami is going to do his show tonight and if the Times Network makes an announcement.

    The Nation Wants to Know!

     

  • It’s true. Arnab Goswami has quit Times Now

    By A Correspondent

    It’s true. It’s true. Yes, it’s true.

    Arnab Goswami has quit Times Now as Editor-in-Chief and President News.

    He is understood to have tendered his resignation today. He convened a meeting of senior editorial staffers at around 3.30pm saying that unless the management asks him to continue, the Newshour telecast tonight (Tuesday, November 1) will be his last.

    Goswami is learnt to be starting his own venture with funding from a few investors. There are rumours of this venture being funded by industrialist-politician Rajeev Chandrashekhar and Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News. There are also rumours that Star India CEO Uday Shankar may be associated with the venture. However, there are some contradictions here.  Murdoch’s Star India has exited the Indian news media since non-Indian companies aren’t allowed to have a majority shareholding.

  • Hector was a core team member of Times Now launch team

    Hector Kenneth Kumar joins NewsX as Managing Ed

    By A Correspondent

     

    Hector Kenneth Kumar

    NewsX has lined up aggressive growth plans and has appointed Hector Kenneth Kumar as Managing Editor. Commenting on the appointment, Kartikeya Sharma, Founder and Promoter – ITV Network, said, “We are delighted to induct seasoned leader on board at this important juncture and we are confident that his experience and understanding of news will help us achieve our objective of sustaining the leadership in the genre, and will set new benchmarks in Indian news television.”

     

    Added Editor-in-Chief Rahul Shivshankar who has worked with Kumar while at Times Now: “NewsX is delighted to have Hector on board. His rich experience and unrivaled feel for a news story will help the channel underline its commitment to putting the viewer back in the heart of the story.”

     

    In his new role, Kumar shall be responsible for managing day-to-day newsroom operations and strengthening newsgathering processes. Speaking on his  new role, Kumar said, “I’m excited to join the NewsX family and extremely happy with the energetic and passionate newsroom. This role provides me with an exciting opportunity to shape the future of news TV. I’m looking forward to contribute my bit to the operations and am certain we’ll achieve new heights with everyone’s support.”

     

    An engineering graduate from MIT Manipal University, he ventured into mainstream media after working briefly as an engineer. He was a core team member of Times Now launch team.

     

     

  • India Today TV overtakes Times Now to the No. 1 spot

    India Today TV overtakes Times Now, as per BARC data

    By A Correspondent

     

    India Today TV has put up good ratings in the megacities as per the latest BARC ratings in week 29. The channel takes the lead from Times Now with a market share of 29.5 per cent (Source: BARC, Mega cities, 15+ M NCCS All, Wk 29’ 16, 02:00 -26:00, Share per cent calculated based on 5 English News Channels). India Today TV also leads in the TG with coverage of 617 cov’000 and 121Gross Impressions’000.

     

  • First Project of Innovative Real Time Data Journalism Garners Top Ratings for Times Now on of May 19 Election Results Day

    GroupM, Mindshare & Gramener partner to co-build data driven visual solutions

    By A Correspondent

     

    Mindshare is partnering with Gramener, leading data visualization company to create data-driven visual solutions for actionable insights across the marketing and communications ecosystem.

     

    Data increasingly powers every element of the marketing mix –source of growth, consumer behavior, content creation, mix optimization and measurement. This partnership leverages GroupM & Mindshare’s strong customer reach and Gramener’s compelling visual analytics platform to create solutions that leverage dormant data assets and bring them alive through cutting edge visualization.

     

    The first project undertaken after the partnership was for the leading English news channel Times Now on May 19th 2016, when the State election results were announced. The team put together a unique, real time visualization of historic and current data that helped Times Now stand out strongly in the news clutter and gave viewers a compelling Visual Data Journalism experience.

     

    Speaking about the data visualization products created especially for Times Now, Arnab Goswami, Editor-in-chief, Times Now said, “We were able to collate historic data dating back to the year of independence, and with the help of the Mindshare and Gramener team, we showed our viewers the latest trends and changing political scenario of the country, as the results of the latest State Elections were announced on May 19th 2016. Our reportage on the elections was holistic, and the data presentation helps the viewer understand our political environment better with the in depth analysis of our editorial team.The seamless workflow integration between the production teams of our news network and Gramener on a real time extremely fast paced election result day was a path breaker. I am absolutely delighted with this association.”

     

    Mindshare is a leader in providing strategic media services to a host of blue-chip clients. Adaptive Marketing is the driving philosophy of Mindshare and data is at the core of Adaptive Marketing. This partnership will enable the creation of bespoke products in the data management & visualization space.

     

    Prasanth Kumar, CEO, Mindshare South Asia said, “To truly deliver on our philosophy of Adaptive Marketing, it is critical that Data is brought alive and put to best effect. Our partnership with Gramener will help us deliver this consistently and in a compelling fashion. We will announce our first joint product very soon”

     

    Naveen Gattu, co-founder at Gramener added. “We are excited by this partnership. It will help us untangle the data footprint and create powerful decision making tools for every marketing manager and executive.”

     

  • The agency will be mandated to handle the airtime as well as sponsorship sales for the channel in the UK

    Times Now signs up Sky Media for ad sales in the UK

    By A Correspondent

     

    Times Now was recently launched in the UK market and is now strengthening its ad sales in the market. The channel has received good initial response to its programming and is positive about its rapid growth.

     

    In a partnership of sorts for two big media players, Times Now has brought on board Sky Media to handle their ad sales duties in the UK. Sky Media, the largest media sales agency in the UK, will be Times Now’s exclusive ad sales partner for all mainstream sales in the region. The agency will be mandated to handle the airtime as well as sponsorship sales for the channel in the UK.

     

    Times Now has also recently taken on board Tarun Sawhney as the country sales manager based in London to manage all the channel sales and marketing in UK and for all Times Network’s channels in India for clients in the region.

     

    With the intent to grow its mainstream sales, Times Now tested on Barb in February and has become barb rated since April.

     

    Naveen Chandra, Head International Business, Times Network said, “Times Now has had consistent ratings leadership in India and in other markets due to its product differentiation with high quality, hard-hitting journalism for the last ten years. We are happy to introduce this strong News product to the South Asian TV audiences in the UK, and build it with smart local marketing initiatives. In Sky Media sales, we believe we have the perfect sales partner for leveraging our product strengths.”

     

    Richard Hawking, Operations Director of Sky Media said, “It’s a fantastic opportunity for us to add Times Now to our extensive portfolio of South Asian targeted channels; it adds another dimension to our offering for advertisers with great news content for a continually growing and important audience.”

     

  • The honeymoon lasted longer than normal as the left-right-centre divide has gotten more pronounced, writes Ranjona Banerji

    Media & 2 Years of Modi Rajya

     

    By Ranjona Banerji

     

    Two years ago, the Bharatiya Janata Party won the Lok Sabha in historic fashion. After decades of coalition rule, one single party won with a huge majority. The victory was attributed to a campaign that ran on the promise of one person: current Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “The Modi Wave” the media called it and indeed it was a tsunami in some areas.

     

    Most of the media immediately went into adulatory mode – that is, those who had not already become Modi cheerleaders during the campaign itself. One of the finest examples of the media’s Modi Media Fan Club at work was seen during the prime minister’s first US trip. The event at New York’s Madison Square Garden for non-resident Indians saw the Indian media calling him a “rock star” (was it Barkha Dutt who started it?) and getting brainwashed by such immense popularity.

     

    Most cynics know that such a honeymoon cannot last. It might be fair to say that in Modi’s case, the honeymoon lasted a little longer than most. Years ago, India Today (the magazine) had a cover on how cartoon depictions and caricatures of Rajiv Gandhi had changed in a year as he went from Mr Clean (after the Congress won with a massive majority following Indira Gandhi’s assassination) who promised youth and change to the same old same old. Made worse of course by Bofors.

     

    With Modi, the shift from “rah rah” to “ha ha” has been more subtle and incremental. Television and social media have changed the discourse and the news cycle. And the left-right-centre divide of Indian society has become more pronounced. Therefore, we still have news channels that are overtly pro-government, we have prominent journalists who are pro-government and we have websites pretending to be news websites that are almost government spokespersons.

     

    Let’s take a look at columnist Tavleen Singh who has a popular column in the Indian Express on Sunday. She promised her readers that Modi’s victory would bring a massive and wonderful change to India, as the nation needed to be rescued from the evil Congress and the even more diabolical Sonia Gandhi. But as time has changed, her column has made certain shifts. As the Modi government did not deliver on the promises she made, she started by blaming everyone around him.

     

    First, the Congress was to blame for its legacy. Then bureaucrats were to blame. Then other ministers were to blame. Then extreme Hindutva organisations were to blame. But now, two years in, now and then Singh finds that Modi himself is to blame. For a fan like Singh, is that a reality check or her fine journalistic prowess from the past re-asserting itself?

     

    The Times of India has declared itself a “federal” state. This means the newspapers say one thing, often critical of the government, and Arnab Goswami, ruler of Bennett Coleman’s news channels (Times Now, ET Now) says something quite else – hyper nationalism and a tendency to hold the Congress to account for this government’s failures.

     

    The Indian Express sticks to the old journalistic principle of holding a government in power to account. So does The Hindu. The Telegraph has perfected the fine art of holding a government in power to extreme ridicule, whether at the Centre or the state.

     

    Our other news channels walk their confused path. NDTV is accused of being anti-Modi and pro-Congress but often that just means that the channel tries to be balanced. The new avatar of CNN-News18 is far more balanced than it has been for three years – all the fears of Mukesh Ambani being only pro-Modi have not come quite true. With R Jagannathan leaving firstpost.com for Swarajya, the flagship website is also less tilted to the right. In fact, one might say Raghav Behl’s Network 18 was far more pro-Modi than the Ambani one. CNN-News18’s choice of “resident commentators” might give one a clue: Swapan Dasgupta (pro-BJP), Vir Sanghvi (not pro-BJP), Ajoy Bose (not pro-BJP) and Ayaz Memon (balanced).

     

    India Today TV remains the most everywhere. The cartoon series So Sorrry lampoons everyone equally. Rahul Kanwal and Gaurav Sawant are the best pro-Modi pro-BJP pro-nationalist and Super Patriotic TV journalists – my due apologies to Goswami for saying this – with Sawant having a slight edge over Kanwal. These two are balanced by the acerbic and sharp Karan Thapar and the even tone of Rajdeep Sardesai. So depending on time of day, you get a different India Today TV.

     

    News18 remains in a constant race to become Times Now with Rahul Shivshankar emulating his former boss Arnab Goswami as best he can. Which is not good enough by a long shot.

     

    May 19 and elections results of five states will be announced. Let’s see how many jump various ships then.

     

  • This opens a good opportunity for entrepreneurs and small advertisers to see their brand on a National TV like a Times Now

    Times Network partners with Amagi for geo-targeted advtg

    By A Correspondent

     

    Amagi has announced that Times Network will use Amagi’s services to enable geo-targeted advertising on five of its channels – Times Now, ET Now, Romedy Now, Zoom, and Magic Bricks Now.

     

    Times Network delivers differentiated content across news and entertainment channels, to over 100 million viewers in the country. Amagi’s technology will enable the broadcaster to split ad inventory and provide regional ad spots to different brands. Times Network’s partnership with Amagi means that advertisers will also have the flexibility to buy regional ad spots on its channels at optimised costs. While this enables bigger advertisers to optimise their media spends, the smaller and regional advertisers can also advertise on national TV and target only markets of their choice and pay only for that. This opens a very good opportunity for entrepreneurs and small advertisers to see their brand on a National TV like a Times Now.

     

    Expressing his confidence in the partnership’s ability to deliver benefits for national and local advertisers, MK Anand, MD and CEO, Times Network, said, ‘’Our Network specialises in delivering decision makers at the top end of the Indian population. Our audiences are comparable with English Newspapers. With the ability to provide geo-targeted reach, we will now be able to offer city specific solutions complimentary to English Newspaper campaigns at very efficient costs. This will be a major innovation for media users.”

     

    “The partnership with Times Network is an evidence of the industry’s belief in Amagi’s core value proposition. Our endeavour is to help industry players recognize innovative and efficient technology-driven ad solutions. A unique patented technological platform has helped us emerge as a reliable choice for TV broadcasters to enable geo-targeted advertising. This marks another landmark step in Amagi’s growth and we are bullish about delivering exceptional results.’’ added Baskar Subramanian, Co-founder of Amagi.

     

  • BARC data shows how the ratings of channels & shows is impacted when star presenters are absent… Goswami included

    There Is No Alternative to Arnab!

     

    We don’t know whether you would consider this news good or bad.

     

    But here’s a fact: despite all that some of us may say about the Arnabification of television news, he rules the English news space.  He dominates cooler conversation and college canteen chatter. His Newshour clearly sets the agenda for what India chats about the night and morning after.

     

    The other day, one overheard this conversation between two professionals on a Mumbai-Bhubaneswar flight. “Arnab dekha. Kya chutney banaya woh guest ka!”

     

    We now have data to prove that when there’s no Arnab Goswami on Times Now, viewers go elsewhere.

     

    We also requested BARC on looking at how other English news channels fare when Arnab is also absent. Interestingly viewers do move to other channels, though that’s not the case in the Hindi general entertainment channel (GEC) space where the absence of Kapil Sharma may have impacted Colors, but didn’t see other GEC ratings leapfrog.

     

    Go through the slide show.  And, yes, Times Now may as well call itself ‘Arnab Now’.