Chief executive of TAM Media LV Krishnan and and CEO, aMap, Amit Varma, share their concerns on the business of TV ratings in an interview with Ashish Sinha.
A curb on advertising budgets for television by the large companies and economic slowdown have managed to bring down the prime-time (8 pm-11 pm) ad-spot rates of general entertainment channels (GECs) like Star Plus, Zee TV, Sony TV to the levels of 2005-06.
In what is being termed as the biggest hit of 2008, based on its first 10-days box office collection, Shah Rukh Khan starrer Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi has managed to collect about Rs 60 crore so far, of which nearly half has come from the overseas markets.
Matter to come before copyright board on January 28.
The cable industry, which reaches over 80 million out of India's 130 million TV-owning homes, is getting ready to strongly oppose the government's move to raise the foreign direct investment limit for direct-to-home service providers from 49 to 74 per cent without doing the same for cable companies.
Nowhere in the world have television viewers been spoilt with so much choice as in India -- there are over 360 television channels on air in the country and applications for another 160 await the government's nod.
Both lifestyle and technical publications are allowed up to 100 per cent foreign investments, according to the norms laid out by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The Al-Abbas group of the UAE, through its publishing arm, Twenty First Century Publishing, will be the 50:50 joint venture partner of Bangalore-based Connoisseur Publishing.
'There are no formal guidelines for security. The Commonwealth Games Federation, London, oversees the preparations. The idea is to ensure that the games go on smoothly. It should not be a fortress,' says A Vasudevan, additional director general, Commonwealth Games Organising Committee.
This means the consumers will have to pay an additional monthly subscription to get these HD channels. Currently, the popular DTH bouquets (80-120 channels) are available at Rs 150-300 a month across most DTH platforms.
The Hindi news channels have recorded a four-fold jump in their ratings for November 27, beating even those recorded by the English news channels, as millions of anxious viewers remained glued on to their television sets watching every moment of the real-time gunbattle taking place in south Mumbai.
If Bollywood's three forthcoming films starring Aamir Khan, Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan in Ghajini, Yuvvraaj, and Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, respectively, become commercially hit then 2008 may prove to be a good year for the Hindi film industry, especially at the time of the economic slowdown.
The FWICE says its 35,000 members will resume work immediately if their pay is raised. Of course, there are several other related demands such as a timebound payment of the shift wage, restricting shifts to 8 hours rather than the current 10-12 hours among others, says a senior FWICE executive. Meanwhile, channels are showing re-runs of old episodes. This has resulted in a drop of upto 55 per cent in their prime time viewership ratings, affecting ad revenue.
At least 10 firms, including a few media houses and some of the leading private equity funds, are said to be in the race to acquire a majority stake in Hyderabad's Deccan Chargers, the Indian Premier League cricket team currently owned by the Deccan Chronicle group.
This means once a DTH consumer buys a set-top box, he will be able to access the service of any service provider with technical changes in the box. The ministry of information and broadcasting has asked the Bureau of Indian Standards to draft norms for advanced DTH set-top box technology, including related to interoperability of the boxes.
Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (R-ADAG) is all set to begin a price war in the direct-to-home market by offering its connection about 43 per cent lower than any of the existing players. Big TV will offer its DTH service for Rs 1,490, while the lowest-priced connection is currently being offered by Dish TV at Rs 2,190, followed by Tata Sky at Rs 2,400.
All those who joined Prasar Bharati before October 5, 2007, will be treated as government employees on "deemed deputation". At present, the status of these employees is not clear as they are treated as on "deemed deputation" and don't get the benefits of a government job like regular promotions, government housing and bonuses.
Encouraged by the success of direct-to-home services in India, Pakistan Television Corporation Ltd, that country's national broadcaster, has invited national and international firms to help it set up its own DTH service with 100 channels. Once operational, this will be the first DTH service in Pakistan.
Trai has submitted 26 recommendations to the government and released 30 consultation papers so far this year, up from seven and 20, respectively, in 2007. Few of its recommendations are actually accepted by the govt.
After the dramatic end of the Star-Balaji proposed joint venture -- formed to launch regional channels -- Balaji has signed a content deal with leading southern broadcaster Sun Network. Balaji's move will set the battleground between Star and Balaji as the Murdoch company is believed to be partnering with Kerala-based broadcaster Asianet for its regional foray.
HITS is a new cable-distribution platform that is similar to the direct-to-home service. It allows distribution of digital-quality cable channels via satellite to cable operators at one go. For consumers, it means access to quality cable channels via a set-top box at reduced monthly rates, while for the cable industry, it means faster and cost-effective digitalisation.
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