News Broadcasting
BARC meets today, set to appoint Mediametrie as its rating partner
MUMBAI: The French audience measurement company Médiamétrie will be the ratings partner for the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC). Though multiple vendors, both Indian and international had thrown in their bids to be the one who would power BARC’s ratings, sources reveal that the council has opted for the French research agency. Apparently, the final decision was taken over the weekend wherein the — members of BARC met along with Mediametrie reps to sign on the dotted line.
Mediametrie will be using audio watermarking tech to monitor TV consumption by its 20,000 strong panel. It involves inserting an identifying mark inaudible to the human ear into the channel’s feed which is delivered to TV homes.. The technology enables different reception modes to be used to measure a TV programme’s audience.
Médiamétrie features in the world’s top 25 market research firms’ list.
The formal announcement is expected to be made later this month. Sources have confirmed that deadline set by BARC such as launching the ratings service by mid-2014 will be met.
The meeting which went on for two hours in the BARC office also discussed the financial aspects of the ratings, but another meeting is slated to be held for the same.
BARC CEO Partho Dasgupta did not confirm the finalisation of the appointment of Mediametrie. Responding in an email he said: “The board of BARC met today to decide on technology and the path ahead. There was unanimity in deciding on a leap in technology to be used in television measurement. The board approved the management and the technical and commercial committees to go ahead and finalise with a couple of international companies for this. The team will be completing the pilots and will start deployments soon. The board also decided on the funding mechanism and is encouraged by the response received from banks for funding the project.”
But sources indicate that it is indeed Mediametrie which will get the go ahead.
According to sources, BARC will start the field trial of meters from January 2014. While the seeding of meters will start from June, the commercial data will be available in the market from October. While initially 20,000 meters will be seeded, BARC will seed 25,000 boxes by 2014 end.
News Broadcasting
CNN-News18 to air live counting day coverage for five state election results on May 4
The channel is rolling out its biggest election coverage machinery yet for results day on 4th May
NOIDA: The votes have been cast. Now comes the reckoning. CNN-News18 is pulling out all the stops for results day on 4th May, when counting begins across five battleground states — West Bengal, Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and the Union Territory of Puducherry — in what promises to be one of the most closely watched electoral verdicts in recent memory.
The channel’s coverage, titled Battle for the States: The Verdict, kicks off at 7am and runs through the day across linear TV, connected television and YouTube. It is the culmination of CNN-News18’s multi-format editorial initiative, Battle for the States, which has tracked the polls from the beginning under the theme Road to Power.
At the operational heart of the coverage will be the Live Results Hub, the channel’s central command centre built to collate, verify and process real-time data flowing in from reporters stationed at counting centres across constituencies. The hub combines newsroom intelligence, analytics and on-the-ground reporting to deliver what the channel promises will be the fastest and most accurate results coverage in English news.
Leading the on-air charge will be primetime anchors Rahul Shivshankar, Anand Narasimhan, Aman Sharma, Nabila Jamal and Shivani Gupta. They will be joined by a wide panel of commentators including author Chetan Bhagat; GVL Narasimha Rao, senior leader of the BJP; Smita Prakash, editor of ANI; activist Saira Shah Halim; political analyst Sumanth C Raman; Abhijit Iyer Mitra, senior fellow at IPCS; Amitabh Tiwari, founder of VoteVibe; columnist Abhijit Majumdar; Nalin Mehta, managing editor of MoneyControl; political analyst Tehseen Poonawalla; senior journalist Subir Bhaumik; and political analyst Manojit Mandal.
Shivshankar, who serves as editorial affairs director at CNN-News18, set out the stakes plainly. “Counting day is one of the most watched events in the electoral cycle, where speed and credibility are tested in real time,” he said. “Battle for the States: The Verdict is built on that promise, combining ground reporting, sharp analysis and cutting-edge election technology to give viewers the clearest and fastest route to the verdict. On May 4, CNN-News18 will once again be the nation’s most trusted channel to witness democracy in action.”
Smriti Mehra, chief executive of English and Business News at Network18, framed the coverage in broader terms. “Elections are defining national events, and audiences turn to brands they trust in moments that matter,” she said. “CNN-News18 has consistently led from the front in every election coverage, and this special programming reflects the scale of our ambition and editorial strength.”
The channel has form here. It claims to have been India’s most preferred English news destination for election results for the past 20 years, covering everything from the 2024 general elections to the Delhi, Maharashtra, Bihar and BMC polls on the back of what it calls an “Always First, Always Right” record. Five states, one day, and a nation waiting for answers. The clock starts at 7am on 4th May.
