With the Government considering a common code of conduct for all TV channels, News Broadcasters Association President Rajat Sharma reiterated the news body’s long-standing demand that the Government should recognise the NBA Code of Ethics and make it part of the Programme Code under the Cable TV Rules as has been done in the case of ASCI.

In his message to all NBA members after being re-elected President of NBA, Sharma wrote, “The present dispensation in the government has publicly acknowledged that they are for “self regulation” and not for any “statutory regulation”. To strengthen self-regulation, the Government should recognise the NBA Code of Ethics and make it part of the Programme Code under the Cable TV Rules as has been done in the case of ASCI, a long-standing demand of the NBA. We hope the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting would take steps in this direction.”

New Delhi: News Broadcasters Association (NBA) today elected Mr. Rajat Sharma as the President. At the NBA Board Meeting held today the members unanimously asked Mr. Rajat Sharma, Chairman & Editor-in-Chief, India TV to continue as the President.  The Board also elected Mrs. Anuradha Prasad Shukla, Chairperson-cum-Managing Director – News24 Broadcast India Ltd, Vice President and Mr. M.K. Anand, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer – Times Network – Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd, Honorary Treasurer of the NBA for the year 2020-2021.

The digital news media industry and the digital news start-ups have come out against the union government’s decision to cap Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in digital news at 26%. Unlike traditional media, there was no FDI restriction on digital media players till now.

Earlier this week, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) issued an order, asking digital media entities to comply with the new FDI norms by furnishing details like shareholding pattern, directors/shareholders, foreign investment and balance sheet.

 

Further, digital news entities that have FDI in excess of 26% have been asked to take necessary steps to bring down the foreign investment level to 26% by 15th October 2021 and seek approval of the MIB.

Within a span of a few years, News Nation has grown into one of the most successful players in the Hindi News genre in India. The channel’s ideology is to respect the viewer’s intelligence and provide them with news they can use.

Abhay Ojha, President- Sales and Marketing, News Nation Network spoke to e4m on the channel’s branding plans, special programming during the festive period and other pressing issues such as the BARC blackout period and the ongoing debate on toxicity of news content.

MUMBAI: The Covid2019 pandemic was an unforeseen catastrophe for the broadcast industry. With the months-long lockdown, ad revenues troughed, and as content dried up, viewers started migrating en-masse to the greener pastures offered by OTT platforms. But thumbing their collective noses at these setbacks, the broadcasters are seeing the virtue in launching new channels. Television is now starting to mirror the online content space and deliver to the evolved consumer needs around content.

Even during the lockdown, people turned to television as a means to keep themselves engaged and entertained, with BARC reporting a 43 per cent increase in India's TV viewership during the lockdown compared to the pre-Covid2019 period. Recent BARC data suggests a 17 per cent increase in India’s TV viewership compared to pre-Covid2019 period (week 38 vs weeks 2-4 ’20). The rise in TV consumption signifies the viewers’ appetite for content – and clearly, the time is ripe to green-flag new channels catering to different tastes and smaller sub-segments across geographies.

MUMBAI: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited’s first lifestyle channel – Zee Zest becomes most loved among viewers in the lifestyle genre, securing the top position in its first BARC reporting week itself. GTVT chart this week has shown that the channel has successfully established its set of audience by topping the list with 2421 GTVTs. Truly Unlimiting the content showcased, Zee Zest creates and brings across shows highlighting wide aspects of the Indian audience’s lifestyle.

Adding more Zest to this milestone achievement, is the fact that top five shows in the lifestyle genre are all from Zee Zest! 

English News channel CNN-News18 from News18 Network has announced the promotion of Executive Editor Zakka Jacob to the post of Managing Editor. Announcing the elevation, Network18 said Jacob will now lead the editorial strategy of CNN News18.

The appointment of Jacob marks a generational shift for CNN News18, one in which one of the oldest channels is being run by the youngest crew in its genre. The average age of the newsroom Jacob leads is well under 40 and is not only geared up to challenge some of the more established names, but also to shake up the genre with new ideas, formats and programmes.

Mumbai: In a fresh look from some of the most acclaimed hits of the early 2000s comes to an all-new collection of fan-favorite reboots. This time around, bigger get better as some of your most loved characters reprise their role from the original feature. While times change, the constant drive to expect nothing less than pure blissful entertainment still stays the same. A reminder of the power of blockbuster television where relaxation and leisure culminate into hours of amusement, &flix and &PrivéHD celebrate World Television Day this Saturday, 21st November 2020.

It’s time to overload on a fun hot streak of Hollywood mega-hits this weekend with an extra morning dose of cop gangbusters and a hailstorm of bullets with the return of 90s classic franchise starring cop action comedy duo Will Smith and Martin Lawrence in Bad Boys For Life. In a post-apocalypse zombie-ridden world, hot-headed cowboy Woody Harrelson meets a young kid Jesse Eisenberg and the rest is history in this fun sequel Zombieland: Double Tap. If tough and crazy had a face to it, it would clearly point to the savage trio who always get the job done leaving behind a trail of piled corpses in the 2019 take of Charlie’s Angels starring fresh faces Kristen Stewart, Naomi Scott, and Ella Balinska.

NEW DELHI: WarnerMedia has revealed that HBO Max, the US streaming platform, will begin rolling out immediately on Amazon Fire TV streaming devices, Fire TV Edition smart TVs, and Fire tablets.

HBO Max is WarnerMedia’s direct-to-consumer streaming offering, with 10,000 hours of curated premium content. The platform features content from HBO, Warner Bros, DC, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Turner Classic Movies, and more. As per media reports, the platform has nearly 38 million subscribers.

The current subscribers of HBO through Amazon’s Prime Video channels will be able to log in to the HBO Max app with their Amazon credentials at no additional cost. The HBO app on Fire TV and Fire tablets will automatically update to become the HBO Max app; customers will be able to log in using their existing HBO credentials. New customers can also subscribe to HBO Max directly in the app. Additionally, all existing HBO Max customers – regardless of how they subscribe to the platform – can now access all of HBO Max via supported Fire TV and Fire tablet devices using their existing provider credentials.

NEW DELHI: The theatrics surrounding the alleged manipulation of TRP by some of the top channels has prompted BARC to temporarily dismiss data sharing for the news genre, leaving an already unsatisfied community of leaders worrying further. While some players are taking it as an opportunity to reconsider their programming strategies and content, a few have again highlighted their points of contention for the existing measurement system. 

However, in a recent exclusive conversation with Indiantelevision.com, CNN International head - advertising sales Abhijeet Dhar claimed that the organisation has maintained a distance from the TRP rat race, and therefore, remains unimpacted by BARC’s decision.