Havas Media Group India CEO Mohit Joshi has joined ENBA jury panel.

A seasoned media professional with close to three decades of experience in the industry, he has worked on a wide range of categories and brands. He has successfully straddled strategic planning, AOR management, buying functions and led multi-disciplinary teams across offices for the last many years. Some of the brands include Hyundai, Kia, Swiggy, Tata Motors, Voltas, Voltas Beko, TVS Tyres, Taj Hotels, amongst others.

The jury meet of the 15th edition of the event will be held on April 1, 2023 at Taj Palace, New Delhi. The awards recognise excellence in television news and will honour broadcasters and leaders from the news industry who have shaped television broadcasting in India.

This year, the ENBA jury will be led by Sunil Arora, senior bureaucrat and former Election Commissioner of India. Arora, a 1980-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, was the 23rd Chief Election Commissioner of India. He is also the chairman of the Association of World Election Bodies (A-WEB). We have a jury comprising of several dignitaries and industry veterans who will select the best in news broadcasting.

There are in all seven broad categories – Programming, Personality, Marketing, Digital Media, International news, Overall Excellence and Special Awards. These categories are further divided into several sub-categories. Contenders for the awards are curated strictly based on nomination and are not based on entries.

Aaj Tak first AI anchor Sana is all set to debut on Sudhir Chaudjhary’s show Black & White at 9 pm tonight.

Sana will co-host the show with Chaudhary.  Recently, India Today Group's Vice Chairperson Kalli Purie launched the group's first bot AI collaborative anchor Sana during India Today Conclave 2023.

Black & White, which airs on Aaj Tak at 9pm, recently topped the programme telecast rating of 9 pm slot on weekdays in Week 46. The show was launched on July 19 2022 and has been growing steadily.

Describing Sana, Kalli Purie had stated, "She is bright, gorgeous, ageless, tireless, speaks in multiple languages and totally under my control." 

On March 10, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) clarified that the foreign direct investment (FDI) cap of 26 per cent on digital news media, will not apply to OTT platforms streaming TV news channels. The MIB press release further informs that TV News Channels are already “granted permission under the Uplinking and Downlinking Guidelines, 2022 of the MIB, and “their entities providing the digital news content are already covered by the FDI policy”.

Though it comes four years after the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) announced the FDI cap, the ministry’s decision is a welcome move. In the absence of such clarification, a streaming platform would’ve had to get a licence to stream news channels on its platforms – an unnecessary regulatory burden.

TV News: A heavily-regulated sector

Indeed, TV news channels are under a very wide regulatory and legal umbrella and don’t need further regulation. Some of the additional laws that govern them include the Cable Television Networks (CTN) (Regulation) Act, 1995, and the Indian Penal Code. There are also layers of self-regulation by the News Broadcasters Standards Authority (NBSA), the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) and the Indian Broadcasting Federation that act like watchdogs for TV channels.

The Programme Code under the CTN Act places even stringent regulatory checks on TV channel content. It stipulates that content which “offends good taste and decency,” “contains criticism of friendly countries,” “encourages superstition” and “contains anything obscene,” should not be aired.

By issuing the March 10 clarification, the MIB has indicated that it is ready to remove anomalies that plague the broadcasting sector. It would do well to also devote some attention to remove the contradiction between the FDI cap in the news broadcasting segment and the uplinking/downlinking guidelines for TV news channels, issued in 2022. Amended in 2015, the former stipulates that foreign investors can invest up to 49 percent in news channels. However, the latter requires that the single largest Indian shareholder of a news channel should have at least 51 per cent of the total equity. These caps are hard to reconcile for listed media companies that are mandated to float a minimum of 25 percent of their shares to the public, as per Securities Exchange Board of India regulations. Therefore, no foreign investor has taken a substantial position in any listed Indian news businesses.

A two-step reform will help remove this anomaly. First, the uplinking/downlinking guidelines should do away with the requirement that an Indian must hold 51 percent of the total equity in a news channel. Second, FDI in news should be increased to 100 percent. Of this, 49 percent of the investment can come in via the automatic route.

FDI in E-Commerce: Clarion call for clarity

Prior to last week’s announcement there was complete uncertainty over the application of FDI norms on digital media. A similar clarification would also be welcome for the e-commerce sector. E-commerce is defined widely as “buying and selling of goods and services including digital product over digital and electronic network” under extant FDI Policy. As a result, the rules accompanying the Policy are technically applicable to almost every online transaction – a sure shot recipe for disaster.

For instance, one of the rules says that e-commerce entities should not directly or indirectly influence the sale price of goods and services on their marketplace. As things stand, such a rule is applicable on platforms like Urban Company which offer utility services at standardised pricing. Imagine if the platform had to check with every electrician before listing the price of his/her services. Rigid application of these rules would make it impossible for Urban Company to function and discourage other platforms too that want to offer services at standardised prices.

Sector-specific ministries still relevant

The appropriate ministry to issue a narrow definition of e-commerce would the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) which administers the Information Technology Act. The law, enacted in 2000, was passed to give legal sanctity to online commercial transactions.

In this context, the administrative allocation of e-commerce to the DPIIT in 2018 results in taking the issue out of its natural home i.e. MeitY. As a result, there isn’t a specialised government body that can advocate for changes to the FDI policy in e-commerce. Those who can do so are within the DPIIT itself – which oversees FDI rules for all inward investments, and not just for e-commerce. In contrast, an important reason behind the government issuing the March 10 clarification is the MIB, which itself is a stakeholder in the issue. It likely engaged with the DPIIT and was able to advocate its position effectively.

The MIB’s March 10 clarification also demonstrates the relevance of sectoral ministries. With digital technologies disrupting sectors across the board, it has become fashionable to predict the demise of ministries that oversee legacy sectors like broadcasting. However, the MIB has demonstrated that it is not only relevant but also effective in affecting important policy changes.

The real question that needs to be answered is this: who will bat for sectors who do not have an overseeing ministry? Will government stakeholders understand their plight? Or will they be left to fend for themselves?

(The views expressed here are solely those of the authors and do not in any way represent the views of exchange4media.com)

The Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) is bringing back its out-of-home TV viewership ratings today on March 30, a day ahead of IPL 2023.

The ratings body reportedly sent out a message to all its subscribers, stating that all watermarked channels will be reported with both the TV and OOH viewership they garner, which would make it a comprehensive aggregation of audiences on the linear TV screen.

BARC first launched the service back in April 2018 and has planned to bring it back since footfalls in restaurants, where sporting events are screened for diners, have increased post-pandemic. Since IPL is the biggest annual tournament in the country, BARC said that it has become critical to address and account for OOH viewership to evaluate the true reach of TV.

BARC will leverage its Audio Watermarking technology and TV viewership measurement capabilities for its OOH TV ratings. It will report TV viewership happening in social hot spots like restaurants, pubs and bars in select cities.

BARC India’s OOH measurement, which captures the growing trend of TV viewing outside homes, is a pre-subscribed service. The service was touted as a game changer for the industry as it also covers a significant share of TV viewership that wasn’t being measured until now.

IN10 Media Network to expand its market share in the Hindi entertainment space with the launch of its second general entertainment channel – Nazara.

Aditya Pittie, Managing Director of IN10 Media Network said, “Keeping in line with our vision to scale our broadcast business, we are pleased to announce the launch of our new GEC channel – Nazara. We are confident it will be a successful addition to our varied bouquet of channels and look forward to providing more content options to the GEC viewers.” 

The channel aims to capture the audience’s interest with shows from varied genres like drama, crime, comedy, mythology, and many more.

Preeti Kedia, AVP – Content & Strategy, Nazara added, “Our latest offering, Nazara, will bolster our hold in the Hindi-speaking markets. We will collaborate with the best in the industry by focusing on telling stories that are entertaining, engaging and relevant in today’s times. We aim to be the go-to destination for entertainment.”

The channel has numerous originals in the pipeline and are under production.

The network has five channels (EPIC, ShowBox, Filamchi Bhojpuri, Gubbare, and Ishara) on air catering to different genres and meeting the varied content consumption of Indian audiences.

Nazara will go on air on April 1, 2023, and will be available on leading platforms across India.

ZEE Entertainment Enterprises Limited said that it has entered into an agreement to settle its dispute with IndusInd Bank, paving way for its merger with Sony.

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) stayed the insolvency plea against ZEEL based on a petition filed by IndusInd Bank to the National Company Law (NCLT).

“The company and IndusInd Bank Ltd have entered into a settlement agreement by which all disputes and claims have been settled between the company and IndusInd Bank Ltd,” said the company in a regulatory filing.

IndusInd had filed a plea before the Mumbai bench of the NCLT to initiate insolvency against ZEEL, stating that the company defaulted on dues worth Rs 83.08 crore.

NCLT had appointed Sanjeev Kumar Jalan as the interim resolution professional in the matter. Punit Goenka, the MD and CEO of ZEEL, had moved the appellate tribunal challenging NCLT’s order, following which NCLAT had stayed the proceedings.

The settlement of the disputes will clear a major obstacle from ZEE’s path as it looks to merge with former rival Culver Max Entertainment Pvt Ltd, formerly known as Sony Pictures Networks India.

The government has issued a clarification on policy guidelines for uplinking and downlinking of satellite TV channels. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) has refused to change its stance with regard to Clause 11(3) (f) of the Policy Guidelines that talks about a company sharing Satellite TV Channel signal reception decoders.

The clarification on Clause 11(3) (f) was sought by stakeholders. The ministry said it received suggestions and requests from stakeholders that the clause could be misinterpreted.

According to the clause, “a company shall provide Satellite TV Channel signal reception decoders to MSOs or Cable Operators registered under the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act 1995 or to a DTH operator registered under the DTH guidelines or to an Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) Service Provider duly permitted under their existing Telecom License or authorized by Department of Telecommunications or to a HITS operator duly permitted under the policy guidelines for HITS operators issued by the Ministry.”

Some stakeholders have suggested that this clause could be misinterpreted to allow permission holders of Satellite TV Channels to provide signal reception decoders to various entities who were previously not permitted under the policy guidelines of 2011.

“However, the Ministry's stance on this matter remains unchanged from the policy guidelines of 2011. Accordingly, it is reaffirmed that the permitted entities may only provide TV Channel Signal Decoders to MSOs/Cable Operators registered under the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995, DTH Operators registered under the DTH guidelines issued by the government, Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) Service Provider duly permitted under their existing Telecom License or authorized by Department of Telecommunications and HITS Operator duly permitted under the Policy Guidelines for HITS operators issued by the MIB,” the ministry notification said.

Policy Guidelines for Uplinking and Downlinking of Satellite TV Channels came out in November last year.