#ShutDownNDTV: Modi ‘bhakts’ call it quits for news channel NDTV

Television news channel NDTV faced criticism from supporters of the Narendra Modi on social media platform Twitter. The Modi bhakts lashed out at NDTV demanding the government to close down the news channel for adopting an ‘anti-national’ perspective.

The hardline supporters of BJP even raised online slogans of sending editor-in-chief ‪#‎BarkhaDutt to Pakistan.

The action was followed by a news report done by Barkha Dutt tracking the arrival route adopted by the infiltrators in Punjab, A news story was carried on the NDTV online portal, claiming that two vehicles loaded with terrorists entered the base and therefore there could be more militants rather than the six who were reported to be locked in an encounter with security forces.

Twitteratis also highlighted the claims made by Barkha Dutt in her book This Unquiet Land – The stories beneath India’s fault lines, where she claimed that Modi-Nawaz met for nearly a hour ‘secretly’ in Kathmandu during the SAARC summit. However, the Ministry of External Affairs rubbished it calling it ‘baseless’.

Disney v/s Nickelodeon: The moment of truth

The kids’ genre in India has been dynamic through the last decades.It has witnessed a more segmented viewing and has become a developing trend. Several national players like Nick, Sonic and Nick Junior from Viacom18, and Disney Kids, Disney Junior from the Walt Disney Network have been seeing competing hard.

In 2015, the kids’ genre was led by innovation and channels were seen betting big on content and experience. A gradual change was felt in the advertiser’s perspective on the genre and out and out promotions on various social media platforms, OOH were focused upon.

According to the FICCI KPMG 2015 report, top ad spenders from the kids’ genre channels are malt foods, confectionery, fast food, and ice cream brands. Though, kids’ brands do not constitute more than 10 per cent of the total base of advertisers, the categories which advertise for the kids’ genre are increasing due to advertisers targeting parents or the pester power of children.

Disney v/s Nick

The competition between Disney and Nick has been a long one. India having one of the largest cartoons watching kids’ population the need for kids’ content has been increasing. FICCI KPMG Report 2015 states that Disney channels Doremon ranked No. 1 in the Top 10 favorite kids’ show. Nick’s Ninja Hatori and Motu Patly followed at the 3^rd and 4^thpositions and Sonic’s Power Rangers Super Samurai at the 9^th positions respectively.

Both the channels have been trying a variety of options introducing vivid characters and relooking at content strategies.

According to Nielsen’s global report, Disney Channel averaged 1.234 million viewers globally during any average minute during the calendar year spanning Dec. 29, 2014 to Dec. 27, 2015. Nickelodeon was beaten out (1.231 million) by about 30,000 viewers. Nickelodeon held the advantage in the key kids 2-11 demo (642,000 vs. 607,000), but Disney Channel fared better in other kids categories like 6-11 (423,000 vs. 328,000, its second largest margin ever) and 9-14 (406,000 vs. 212,000, winning by a record margin).

Strategies in 2015

Disney channel rebuilt its identity from being a kids’ channel to a family channel with a variety of new family shows that focused on narrating stories and introducing characters uniquely tailored for its audiences. Primarily aimed at children and pre-teen for the age group 4 to 14 years it introduced a lot of local flavor with which the audience could relate to.

With a strong line up the channel featured shows such as Doraemon, Best of Luck Nikki, Palak Pe Jhalak, Lage Raho Chachu, Phineas and Ferb etc on weekdays followed Vicky and Vetaal, Maanna Maan Main Tera Mehman, Zindagi Kuch Khatee Kuch Meethee on the weekends. A major achievement globally was the path breaking Numero Uno network position that it achieved by the end of 2015.

On the other hand, Viacom 18’s Nickelodeon created a multi-platform brand experience with a view to provide both education and entertainment to kids across all age groups. Sonic India was seen targeting action loving young adults where as Kids Jr targeted at kids between 2-4 years and Nick Teen focused at teens.

The Nickelodeon brand mainly focused on innovative and engaging initiatives. The channel stepped ahead with the launch of its high definition – Nick HD+ introducing one of the best local and international content such as ‘never seen before’ episodes of Dora The Explorer and Sponge-bob Squarepants, international shows such as Marvin Marvin etc. The channel also introduced Shiva to its local kitty Motu Patlu and Pakdam Pakdai.

Strong marketing nexus

Nickelodeon focused on promoting the brand through a 360 degree marketing campaign with teasers promoting the show through their home network channels and expanding marketing and promotion measures through retail, van activities, OOH, digital etc.

Nick launched its new campaign Big Green Help 2015 recalling Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Swachh Bharat initiative. The campaign provided information and tools for kids to understand various environmental issues and was seen empowering and encouraging kids to save the planet and its resources.

The channel celebrated, ‘Nickelodeon Party Hard with Motu Patlu’ and ‘Sonic Jo Dekhega Wo Jeetega’ aimed at making school time special by curating a high octane entertainment and engagement event with kids.

In the last week of 2015, Nick was seen topping the chart with 133 GVTs whereas Disney Channel stood third with 92 GVTs. A difference of one position in the last week shows the steep route through which both brands will have to survive to lead the genre.

While Disney finally reclaimed lead after a decade, maintaining the position is going to be tough. Both channels will have to up their ante to adapt to the changing content consumption trend, especially with awaited DAS expansion.

NDTV Nobel Solutions Summit: Internet democratic or dangerous?

NDTV in association with TCS Nobel Solutions initiated Nobel Solutions Summit in New Delhi. The idea behind the summit is to bring Nobel Laureates from across the globe at a single platform in order to get them to debate, discuss and deliberate on the major challenges facing India and the world today.

Speaking exclusively to IndianMediaBook, Vikram Chandra, Group CEO, NDTV, said, “We wanted to do something different and together with TCS we came up with the idea of getting big Nobel Laureates on one platform get big to discuss on various issues and to think about what can make an actual change.”

The Nobel Laureates such as Leymah Roberta Gbowee, Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, Kailash Satyarthi, Amartya Sen, Arthur McDonald and David Trimble took part in a different panel and discussed various issues such as Whether the internet is both democratic and dangerous; The importance of scientific and medical research’ and With increasing global polarization are we heading towards more internal violence and a major global conflict?

Internet: democratic or dangerous?

In a panel discussion at Nobel Solutions Summit, the Nobel laureates have shown their concern towards the increasing penetration of Internet; whether the role of internet is democratic or could it also be dangerous?

Today internet has become a crucial topic for debate. It has huge contribution in development, but it simultaneously consists of drawbacks as well.

Speaking about the use of internet, Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, Nobel Laureate said, “Internet is becoming useful and ubiquitous, it is the utility like running water. If you deprive the majority of connectivity, it creates a digital divide.”

Not only common people, Indian government is now taking initiative so as to become Digital India. However, freedom of speech on the internet, is a major concern for the government who would want to continue in office and at the same time doesn’t want to appear as unfair.

“How do you balance the needs of society to prevent the dangerous elements of carrying out anti-social actions with a rule of law where the government cannot arbitrarily exercise power? Similarly a totalitarian state can use the power of the internet to clamp down on any dissenting opinion”, commented Ramakrishnan.

For Amartya Sen this conversation to some extent is the distinction between the state and the government. Sen believes that It’s not so much of the government’s responsibility as it is of the state which includes other institutions like judiciary, law, to participate in public debate and discussions.

 “Every government also wants to win the next election and which shows  certain amount of cynicism that comes in on the kind of conversation or communication it wants to encourage, expressed Sen.

The Indian Media industry has been largely driven by increasing digitisation and higher internet usage over the last decade. Internet has almost become a mainstream media for entertainment for most of the people.

“Internet is the future of Indian Media Industry. At NDTV, being a TV company, we have been focusing on internet in past 10-15 year and we have built-up NDTV.com, which is one of the powerful portals in the country. So, internet is something that we are paying lots of attention to and that is something which we want to continue it”, added Chandra.

According to India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), Internet advertising will emerge as the third-largest segment, with a share of about 16 per cent in the total M&E advertising pie.

“Before the internet, we said TV is for entertainment and radio for information”, expressed David Trimble.

One of the major issues with the internet is people misusing anonymity.  Anonymity is absolutely crucial in case where expressions can lead to suppression or even death.

Expressing his thoughts, Trimble, said “You can strike a balance but the balance is going to change. Anonymity is extremely vital in certain societies but it does not apply universally. If anyone could work out where Internet would be in next few years, they will make a fortune.”

In past few years, NDTV has been indulging in several initiatives from different fields Banega Swachh India, Operation Everest, Save Our Tigers, Marks for Sports, Support My School etc.

“Over a period of time, NDTV has achieved a reputation by doing meaningful campaigns and exercises that get a greater impact and difference to the society in order to bring change. We will continue to do such activities in future”, concluded Chandra.

Source: IndianMediaBook - Television

BARC Week 52: Rishtey climbs to seventh spot; Aaj Tak witnesses dip in TRP

In the last week of 2015, top players Colors, Zee Anmol and Star Plus witnessed a hike in terms of viewership, while players like Zee TV, Star Utsav and Life Ok were seen struggling trying to retain their TRPs. Surprisingly, Rishtey emerged as the biggest gainer among all GECs. Sister channels Sony Sab, Sony Pal and Sony Entertainment occupied last three positions.

General entertainment channels

Colors not only maintained its top spot, but its viewership also increased from 725881 GVTs in week 51 to 744923 GVTs. Zee Anmol stood strong at second position with 742876 GVTs, up from last week’s 712825 GVTs. With 712114 GVTs, Star Plus remained at third spot, but it also witnessed hike in terms of viewership, which was pegged at just 676890 GVTs in week 51.

At fourth position was Zee TV with 651175 GVTs, down from previous week’s 669655 GVTs. Star Utsav saw a huge fall, from 514354 GVTs in week 51 to 464803 GVTs. Life Ok occupied fifth spot, but its TRP went down from 437469 GVTs in week 51 to 396615 GVTs.

Rishtey not only jumped from ninth spot to seventh, but also its viewership went up from 286712 GVTs in previous week to 379529 GVTs. Sony Sab remained at eight position with 328873 GVTs, while Sony Pal climbed to ninth spot with 323119 GVTs. Sony Entertainment slipped from seventh to tenth spot with 314286 GVTs.

Top shows

Naagin from Colors gained TRPs week by week. It stood strong in week 52 with 19847 GVTs, up from last week’s 18549 GVTs. Zee Anmol’s Ek se Bhale Do climbed to second spot with 13685 GVTs, higher than previous week’s 12739 GVTs.

Star Plus’ Yeh Hai Mohabbatien jumped to third position with 12599 GVTs, while Zee TV’s Kumkum bhagya climbed to fourth spot with 12515 GVTs. Colors’ Sasural Simar Ka slipped to fifth position with 12339 GVTs.

News channels

Aaj Tak maintained its lead position, but its TRP went down from 73183 GVTs in week 51 to 72823 GVTs. India TV stood strong at second position with 67952 GVTs, up from last week’s 57156 GVTs.

News Nation jumped from fifth position to third spot with 49391 GVTs, higher than previous week’s 41144 GVTs. ABP News slipped to fourth spot and its viewership also went down from 51239 GVTs in week 51 to 48765 GVTs. Zee News occupied fifth position with 43895 GVTs. CNBC Awaaz stood with 828 GVTs, followed by Zee Business with 713 GVTs.

Movies

Sony Max topped the chart once again with 408012 GVTs, up from last week’s 378983 GVTs; followed by Zee Cinema with 363948 GVTs. Star Gold remained at third position, but its viewership went up from 327397 GVTs in week 51 to 359026 GVTs.

Movies Now occupied fourth spot with 267041 GVTs, down from previous week’s 276651 GVTs, while &pictures’ TRP increased from 186072 GVTs in week 51 to 195774 GVTs.

Sports

Ten Sports continued to lead with 126984 GVTs. Sister Channels Star Sports 1 and Star Sports 2 remained at second and third spots with 45719 and 20655 GVTs, respectively.

Ten Cricket stood at fourth position with 20418 GVTs, followed by Sony Six with 14813 GVTs.

Music

Mastiii not only maintained its top spot, but its viewership went up from 119727 GVTs in week 51 to 122024 GVTs. B4U Music’s TRP also witnessed hike from 98184 GVTs in last week to 107019 GVTs. Sony Mix climbed to third position with 76962 GVTs, up from previous week’s 70218 GVTs.

9XM fell in terms of both viewership and ranking. It slipped to fourth spot with 75922 GVTs, down from week 51’s 82423 GVTs. 9XM Jalwa stood at fifth spot with 46400 GVTs, higher than previous week’s 42169 GVTs.

Kids

With 98638 GVTs, Nick stood strong at lead position and witnessed hike in terms of viewership as compared to last week’s 95180 GVTs. Pogo TV’s TRP decreased from 72452 GVTs in week 51 to 71397 GVTs, while Cartoon Network managed to gain eyeballs as its viewership went up from 69984 GVTs in previous week to 71064 GVTs.

Hungama returned to fourth spot with 51130 GVTs, up from last week’s 48407 GVTs and due to decrease in TRP from 51423 GVTs in week 51 to 40512 GVTs, Disney Channel slipped to fifth spot.

Youth

Zing managed to claim the throne with 13868 GVTs, higher than week 51’s 11164 GVTs. Bindass climbed to second spot and its viewership increased from 9695 GVTs in last week to 10429 GVTs.

Last week’s topper MTV slipped to third position with 10105 GVTs, down from previous week’s 11346 GVTs. Zoom stood strong at fourth position with 7617 GVTs, followed by E24 with 6879 GVTs.

Infotainment

Discovery Channel led the chart once again, but its TRP went down from 6589 GVTs in week 51 to 6251 GVTs. History TV18’s viewership went up from last week’s 4721 GVTs to 5185 GVTs.

National Geographic Channel remained at third position and its TRP went up from 3502 GVTs to 3673 GVTs. Animal Planet occupied fourth position with 3628 GVTs, up from last week’s 3486 GVTs and Nat Geo Wild stood at fifth position with 1474 GVTs.

Source: IndianMediaBook - Television

BARC Week 52 English Genre: AXN, Times Now witness dip; ET Now gains TRP

While Hindi entertainment genre did well last week, English entertainment players were not lucky enough to enjoy the New Year as much. Viewership of all channels went down by 50 per cent.

Entertainment channels

AXN maintained its lead, but had a great fall in terms of viewership. Its TRP went down from 334 GVTs in week 51 to 175 GVTs. Comedy Central climbed to second spot with 127 GVTs, down from last week’s 146 GVTs. Star World also climbed to third position, but its viewership went down from 141 GVTs to 94 GVTs.

Zee Cafe slipped from second spot to fourth position. Its viewership decreased from 160 GVTs in week 51 to 75 GVTs. With 42 GVTs, Colors Infinity SD remained at fifth spot.

News channels

Times Now continued to lead with 439 GVTs, down from last week’s 507 GVTs. NDTV 24×7 stood at second spot with 223 GVTs, followed by India Today TV with 215 GVTs.

CNN IBN remained at fourth spot, but its TRP went up from 131 GVTs in week 51 to 231 GVTs, followed by BBC World News with 163 GVTs, up from previous week’s 125 GVTs.

Business news

ET Now led the chart once again with 216 GVTs, up from last week’s 151 GVTs. CNBC TV18 climbed to second position with 176 GVTs, while NDTV Profit and NDTV Prime slipped to third position with 107 GVTs. Bloomberg TV occupied fourth spot with 12 GVTs.

Movies

Movies Now topped the chart once again with 2656 GVTs. Star Movies’ TRP went up from 1981 GVTs in week 51 to 2324 GVTs. Sony Pix remained at third spot with 1570 GVTs, down from previous week’s 1760 GVTs.

With 1164 GVTs, HBO climbed to fourth position, while Zee Studio slipped to fifth spot with 1146 GVTs.

Source: IndianMediaBook - Television