News Broadcasting
Survival mantra for news channels – innovate or perish
MUMBAI: Innovation is what news channels have to look for to survive in a cluttered space..
Speaking today at the second of a series of interactions between the television industry and media, TAM Media Research VP Atul Phadnis stated, “There were as many as 11 news channels in 2002 and at present we have 24 news channels.”
He added that the viewership has grown in the news channel genre, which has seen 74 per cent growth in 2004 from a minuscule percentage in 2002.
Dwelling on television advertisements Phadnis said, “The Aaj Tak strategy of roping in low cost advertisers in volume saw the appearance of small time advertisers on the small screen.”
Radio Today chief operating officer Abraham Thomas stressed on the importance of the ad sales, marketing and deliver teams jointly working on how to deliver focussed content, which could facilitate the generation of advertising.
Abraham was quick to point out that it was essential also to know and delineate the boundaries of such activity as editorial credibility was one commodity that should not be compromised on.
Radio Today manages FM Radio stations in various cities under the Red FM Brand.
Citing an example of how news channels have been experimenting with innovations to offer news in an entertaining way without compromising on news value, Abraham pointed to NDTV India’s using Bollywood stars Abhishek Bachchan and Rani Mukherjee in characters as Bunty and Bubbly from their latest movie Bunty Aur Bubbly presenting serious news. This, he said was innovative and entertaining. What would not have been acceptable, according to him, was if what the two read out was not actual news.
Here, the entertainment has been delivered, but the level of serious news has been maintained, Abraham explained.
Moving beyond simple commercials or promos, cross-promotional activities endorsed by the movie Bunty Aur Bubbly should be promoted without denting the news value, the panelists said.
News channels would witness increasingly stiff competition, but the higher standard of journalism should be maintained. The channels should move beyond superficial reportage and more of in-depth analysis should happen, Abraham averred.
Responding to the criticism that in the race to break the news first, channels were often guilty of getting their facts wrong, Media Content and Communications Services India Pvt. Ltd. (managers of Star News and Star Ananda) CEO Uday Shankar, accepted that was an issue that all were grappling with.
The way forward, according to Shankar: “To survive amongst the 24 odd news channels, it is essential for a channel to seek out its own identity and carve out its niche within the given space.” That should character of the channel should be reflected not just in what editorial direction a channel takes but also in the way it presents its news, he added.
He stressed on “innovation as being crucial” to compete in the whole genre.
Some of the other points made during the discussuion were following :
+ Counting day of the Lok Sabha election ate into 30 per cent of the general entertainment channels
+ Shock value is what viewers look for
+ Anchors are faces of a channel but driven by the brand
+ When known anchors leaves the organisation the face suffers more than the brand
+ Crime shows beamed at prime time across news channels garner more viewers
+ Brands however uncomfortable advertising on crime shows
+ News magazines have seen a dip in readership: 86 million in 2002 to 69 million in 05
+ Lack of innovation within the news magazines
+ Niche magazines like auto magazines are flourishing
This was the second of the Blink knowledge series titled “Impact of News channels on the print media” organised by Tam Media Research and Press Club, Mumbai. The third session will be on Regulation of TV content and will be held next Friday, 17 May.
The first of the Blink knowledge series was held last Friday and covered pros and cons of direct-to-home (DTH) services in a country like India.
News Broadcasting
Senior media executive Madhu Soman exits Zee Media
Former Reuters and Bloomberg leader says he leaves with “no regrets” after brief stint at WION and Zee Business
NOIDA: Madhu Soman, a veteran of global newsrooms and media sales floors, has stepped away from Zee Media Corporation after a short stint steering business strategy for WION and Zee Business.
In a reflective LinkedIn note marking his departure, Soman said his time within the network’s corridors was always likely to be brief. “Some chapters close faster than expected,” he wrote, signalling the end of a nearly two-year spell in which he oversaw both editorial partnerships and commercial strategy.
Soman joined Zee Media in 2022 after more than a decade abroad with Reuters and Bloomberg, returning to India to take on the role of chief business officer for WION and Zee Business. His mandate was ambitious: bridge the newsroom and the revenue desk while expanding digital and broadcast reach.
During the stint, Zee Business reached break-even for the first time since its launch in 2005, while WION refreshed programming and strengthened its digital footprint across platforms such as YouTube and Facebook.
But Soman suggested the cultural fit proved uneasy. Describing himself as a “cultural misfit”, he hinted at deeper tensions between editorial instincts shaped in global newsrooms and the realities of India’s television news ecosystem.
Before joining Zee, Soman spent more than seven years at Bloomberg in Hong Kong as head of broadcast sales for Asia-Pacific, expanding the company’s news syndication business across several markets. Earlier, he held senior editorial roles at Reuters, overseeing online strategy in India and managing Reuters Video Services from London.
His career began in television and wire reporting, including a stint with ANI during the 1999 Kargil conflict, before moving into digital publishing as India’s internet media landscape took shape.
Now, after nearly three decades in broadcast and digital media, Soman is leaving Delhi NCR and returning to his hometown, Trivandrum.
Exhausted, he admits. But unbowed. And with one quiet line that sums up the journey: he didn’t sell his soul — because some things, after all, are not for sale.
