MxMIndia

Tag: Vikram Chandra

  • In its second year, the event comprises a conclave featuring master class sessions and an Experience Zone, culminating into one of the biggest tech awards night of the country

    NDTV Good Times to hose ‘Gadget Guru Conclave & Awards’ 2012

    By A Correspondent

     

    NDTV Good Times has announced the second edition of the much anticipated and coveted Gadget Guru Conclave and Awards 2012.

     

    In its second year, the event comprises a conclave featuring master class sessions by the likes of Sony, Dolby and Canon, amongst others and an Experience Zone showcasing the best that the tech world has to offer. All this will culminate into one of the biggest tech awards night of the country, to be held on March 12 atKingdomOfDreams, Gurgaon. An exciting addition this year is the Launch Pad initiative, which is a unique platform for the latest innovations and product launches by renowned brands.

     

    The Gadget Guru Awards are the biggest the country has seen in the field of Consumer Electronics, Gadgets and Technology and provide a unique opportunity for experts from the industry to ideate, discuss and analyze the latest trends.

     

    The event will be hosted by NDTV’s Tech Gurus Rajiv Makhni and Vikram Chandra, the duo behind the flagship tech show Gadget Guru, bringing the latest technology-related news and reviews to the consumers.

     

    Sharing his views on NDTV’s long term relationship with technology and the Gadget Guru Conclave & Awards 2012, Vikram Chandra, CEO, NDTV Group, said: “It’s great to be back with the second edition of the Gadget Guru Conclave and Awards. We were truly inspired by the overwhelming response received last year and have decided to go even bigger this year with additions like master class sessions and the Launch Pad”

     

    The awards have 18 categories which include Audio Product of the Year, Audio and Video Innovation of the Year, Portable Audio Product of the Year, Computer Peripherals of the Year, Computing Product of the Year, Consumer Electronics of the Year, Gadget Eye Candy of the Year, Budget Phone of the Year, Smartphone of the Year, Imaging Product of the Year, TV display of the Year, Celebrity Endorsement of the Year, App of the Year, Gaming Product of the Year, Technology/Innovation of the Year, NDTV Gadget of the Year (Viewer’s choice), NDTV Gadget of the Year (Jury choice) and Portable Computing Product of the Year.

     

    Talking about the unprecedented success of the first edition of the awards and its bigger and better version this year, Smeeta Chakrabarti, Chief Executive Officer, NDTV Good Times said: “Gadget Guru Awards have become a benchmark in the field of technology and gadgets and we are extremely excited about the second edition. The awards will celebrate the best innovations in the tech world over the past one year and will honour those brands and companies who have made a place in the consumer’s hearts.”

     

    The distinguished jury for the awards features award winning actor Gul Panag, tech expert – Atul Chitnis, techonolgy consultant – Kishore Bharagava, Nishanth Padiar – Editor, Stuff Magazine, Ashish Bhatia – Independent technology writer and

    columnist, Prasanto Kumar Roy – President and Chief Editor of Cyber Media’s ICT Group besides Vikram Chandra & Rajiv Makhni. A special audio jury includes KJ Singh – National Award Winner for Sound Design in Omkara and Milinid Rane Rao – Electro-Acoustic Expert.

     

    Speaking about the jury and the credibility of the awards, Rajiv Makhni, Editor,

    Technology, NDTV Limited, said: “The Gadget Guru Awards are the most esteemed and anticipated awards in the Indian tech space. The award jury has some of the most respectable names in the industry and an extremely rigorous and exhaustive process has been put into place for the nominations and selection of winners.”

     

    Gadgets launched between February 1, 2011 and January 15, 2012 are eligible for this year’s nominations. All nominations have been tested and rated by NDTV Good Times’ Knowledge Partner, Living Digital. The final winners will be shortlisted based on the test results and an extensive jury meet process and rating system verified by Ernst & Young.

     

    NDTV Good Times is the flagship channel of NDTV Lifestyle, part of the NDTV Group. Launched in September 2007, NDTV Good Times quickly becameIndia’s top-ranked English-language lifestyle television channel. NDTV Good Times presents world-class, aspirational lifestyle programming that advocates living large. The lineup of shows covers every aspect of the lifestyle genre to portray and cater to an increasingly globalIndia.

  • NDTV channels 24×7 and Good Times are now available on Dish Network in the US, bringing the channels to 74 countries and 18 million households outside India.

    NDTV expands global reach in US

    By Akash Raha

     

    NDTV 24×7 and NDTV Good Times is now available on Dish Network in the US, bringing the channels to 74 countries and 18 million households outside India.

     

    Both channels are now a part of Dish Network’s South Asian Mega pack along with other channels from India. In addition, NDTV 24×7 also becomes the first Indian channel to also be available in their international base pack as well.

     

    Commenting on the launch, Vikram Chandra, Executive Director and Group CEO, NDTV Limited said, “NDTV is delighted to be partnering with Dish Network to bring its content to an even wider audience in the US. We recognize that Dish dominates the South Asian market in the US, but we are also delighted that NDTV 24×7 will also be available to a wider audience through their International base pack. We hope our association helps both companies reach new heights.”

     

    The launch of NDTV 24×7 in Dish Network’s international base pack comes close on the heels of the launch on Virgin in the UK, where it also became the only Indian channel to be launched in their basic pack.

     

    NDTV’s channels are now available in the leading platforms across the US, UK, Canada, Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, Australia-New Zealand and the Indian sub-continent, among others, and reach more households than General Entertainment Channels (GECs) in the international market.

     

    In addition, NDTV Good Times, India’s very own lifestyle channel, has also done well in the international market, allowing the Indian Diaspora to enjoy the range of offerings that it brings, and giving them a taste of the New India. Within four years of its launch NDTV Good Times is available in key international markets, including the US and Canada, with a launch in the UK already in the pipeline.

     

  • NDTV's Vikram Chandra on ratings, skewed and otherwise, and why we should trust the GFK-Mode survey.

    Too many people taking undue advantage of TAM, says NDTV’s Vikram Chandra [from our archives]

    While CEO Vikram Chandra wasn’t reachable for comment, this is what a spokesperson told MxMIndia: “We confirm we have filed a lawsuit in the Supreme Court of New York State. Because the matter is sub judice, we have no further comments at this time.”

    While the legal documents present the NDTV case, this interview of Mr Chandra from the MxMIndia archives (interview published on December 7, 2011) gives you a good idea of NDTV’s standpoint. – Ed

     

    By Akash Raha

     

    Recently NDTV 24×7 came out with an advertisement announcing the GFK-Mode survey which showed it to be most watched English News Channel. The survey which the group has conducted for the third time since 2009 places it well above its competitors. MxM India spoke to Mr Vikram Chandra, CEO, NDTV Group to know more about why he went in for the survey.

     

    Q: Could you tell us a little more on the GFK-Mode survey…are there any other insights that you would like to share?

    We have now done three surveys over the last three years since 2009. We did the last one in 2011 the results of which you have quoted. The results of this survey have been very consistent now. All the three surveys have shown the same kind of results for us. A large sample base has been used here showing NDTV 24*7 to be the most watched channel with 56 percent. There is obviously an interesting lesson in here somewhere which someone should try and figure out.

     

    Q: The findings are very much in variance with those published by TAM. Why do you think this is the case?

    You know, we have our own opinion on the way TAM ratings are conducted and we have frequently discussed this with TAM without gong forward. We are hoping that they will get the complete picture…We do feel that the TAM rating meters aren’t adequate to measure a country like India. I think that there are not adequate boxes to measure viewership. Moreover, I think that TAM has not been able to focus on all parts of the society to derive their ratings from. One of the issue which is of concern for us, and it is causing a lot of concern to TAM too, is that there are people who are using undue advantage of the way TAM functions. There are a large numbers of outliers who are there in the TAM samples. I think TAM needs to be a little robust in their system. Measurement is a serious issue which has been going on for a while now.

     

    Q: Media planners and marketers still subscribe to TAM as the ‘currency’ for buying ads on channels? Would they take your survey findings seriously?

    There are two things to it…While numbers and TAM ratings remain important in the absence of any other measurement system, media buyers and planners look at other variables and other aspects of channels. So I think the message is being communicated to them. We are also drawing attention to some of the anomalies that are there, and we are hoping that media buyers will also join us to get rid of these anomalies. That there are anomalies, everyone knows… A lot of money is been spent on this data and hence it is important that the data which comes out eventually is robust.

     

    Q: What do you think should be done to come out with a robust currency?

    First of all the broadcasters should work together with TAM and other measuring organization to try come out with one robust measurement. I think we should all work in partnership as this is in everyone’s interest – It’s in TAM’s interest, broadcaster’s interest and in interest of media buyers too. What does it mean? It means that we need more boxes and a bigger sample sizes. Also, if somebody is trying to tamper with the measurement system, how can that be identified and corrected. These things are in everyone’s interest. It is not only NDTV who face these problems, I am sure the others do too. So we are appealing to the entire industry to come together and fix the measurement system. We are in the process of trying to reform and fix the whole media business. That is the most important challenge before us. Digitization, distribution problems are being sorted out and only in a few years time everything should be stream lined and a systematic model. Similarly, on the other side of the business we have a measurement system which is a cause of concern and we have to find a way to make it more robust.

     

    Q: You’ve said ‘why scream and shout’ in your advertisement. But isn’t that what most news TV channels do? On air in their shows and in their advertising and sales pitches?

    I am glad you ask this question…We have a very strong viewpoint on what we think we should do. At the end of the day NDTV’s strongest asset is our brand and we stand for something. We try to do a certain type of journalism and a certain type of programme, and this is one of the things that we have tried not to change too much. And if you compare us to other Hindi channels, you will clearly know the difference and how we are different from most of the channels. Now that I am the CEO one of the things I want to do is to make this differentiation even stronger. We are not ready to put up random shows and we don’t believe in going tabloid. We don’t believe in bhoot banglas, tantriks and astrology and alien abduction. We are not going to do any of this and that’s the kind of environment we want to build for our advertisers. And we will appeal to media buyers and people who want to protect their brands to think about that.

     

    Q: Would you like your advertiser to buy spots on your channel for the number of viewers or because of the environment it offers…quality and experienced anchors and reporters, sobriety in coverage, credible leadership?

    Both! And that is precisely what we say to our advertisers. We have numbers, not like we don’t have numbers, but one should also consider the people who are coming and watching our show. People who come and watch our channel come for a certain kind of program and sobriety. I am not doing a value judgment on others’ programs…everyone is free to do whatever kind of programming that they want. But people who are coming to us are coming for a certain type of program. There is a certain style that NDTV stands for and we believe that that’s the style we are most comfortable with. And we think that offers the advertisers an environment, which if they sit and think is going to be beneficial for them in the long run.

  • NDTV Profit and Hero MotoCorp Ltd Have launched the contest ‘A Search for India’s Stock Market Hero’ beginning November 8, on NDTV Profit.

    Search on for Stock Market Hero

    By Akash Raha

    NDTV Profit and Hero MotoCorp Ltd. launched the contest ‘A Search for India’s Stock Market Hero’ beginning November 8, on NDTV Profit. This new and exciting contest will give an opportunity to every stock market enthusiast to win Rs. 50,000 every two hours and upto Rs. 2 lakhs everyday for the next three months.

    Speaking on the channel’s new offering, Vikram Chandra, Group CEO, NDTV, said “We have always believed in creating exciting formats to keep our viewers engaged. This is not just any regular stock market game. It’s a contest of both skill and knowledge. And it will help investors get a deeper understanding of financial markets”

    All the viewers have to do to win is answer two simple questions: “Which stock which will gain the most in the next two hours?” and another question related to the programme on-air.

    Anil Dua, Sr Vice President (Marketing & Sales), HeroMotoCorp Ltd., said ”The new ‘Hero’ has arisen and is all poised to carry forward its rich legacy, setting new benchmarks with record performance and cutting-edge products. It is this spirit of ‘Hum Mein Hai Hero’ which reflects in all our brand associations.”