News Broadcasting
Chandra says nyet to DTH, says ad revenues are perking up
Zee Telefilms chairman Subhash Chandra today hinted that the group is not immediately interested in starting a direct-to-home (DTH) TV service.
“DTH is not as big (a technology) as has been made out in India,” Chandra told indiantelevision.com on Thursday. “The target market for DTH would be 4-5 million homes under the present economic circumstances,” Chandra said pointing out that no matter how much marketing a DTH company does the final target would be what he said.
However, it is interesting to note that Chandra’s company was the first to announce its intention to start a DTH service in India, along with Sterling group’s C. Sivasankaran, when the government had announced the policy guidelines for KU-band DTH services over 18 months back. What is also interesting is that Zee TV’s former partner Star India has been extremely buoyant about launching a DTH service and its chairman James Murdoch has been very vocal in his opposition to CAS and Indian cable operators.
Speaking on revival of the economy and its reflection on the ad spend on TV, Chandra felt that advertising revenues have “started looking up.” “With new sectors like insurance opening in India and comparatively smaller advertisers (like those selling slippers (footwear), snacks and locally-made undergarments) starting to advertise on TV, ad revenues certainly have been on the upswing in recent times,” he said.
As an example to his theory, Chandra cited the example of Zee TV’s advertising pattern during early days. “In 1992, when we started, Hindustan Lever accounted for between 40-45 per cent of the total ad revenue of the channel,” he pointed out, adding, “The financial year that we closed on March 31, 2002, HLL’s share has come down to 5-6 per cent. This does not mean that Zee’s ad revenues have come down. It only means that others too have made inroads.”
Asked what sort of appreciation in ad revenues does he forecasts for Zee Telefilms in the future, Chandra said, “During the current financial year we expect ad revenues to go up between 10-15 per cent.”
Pointing out that TV is slowly attracting ads which otherwise would have gone to other avenues, Chandra said that today TV attracts about 35 per cent of ads from the total ad pie.
News Broadcasting
Rajesh Sundaram joins NDTV Profit as senior editor, assignment
The 32-year newsroom veteran has launched channels on three continents and covered everything from 9/11 to South African television
MUMBAI: NDTV Profit has bolstered its newsroom with a hire who has done rather more than most. Rajesh Sundaram, a journalist with over three decades of editorial, managerial and consultative experience across India and international markets, joins as senior editor, assignment, tasked with sharpening the network’s newsgathering and real-time response.
Sundaram’s career reads like a tour of Indian media’s most formative moments. He began at Businessworld in 1994, moved to Zee News as bureau chief across Mumbai and Chennai, then joined NDTV in 2002 as part of its political bureau during a particularly febrile period in Indian politics. A stint as India correspondent for Al Jazeera International followed, where he covered key geopolitical developments and got his first serious taste of the global newsroom.
What sets Sundaram apart, however, is his serial channel-launching habit. At NewsX, he helped get the operation off the ground. At Headlines Today, part of the India Today Group, he served as editor. At News Nation, he helped launch the Hindi news channel and its digital ecosystem. He then crossed continents to lead the launch of ANN7 in South Africa as editor-in-chief, overseeing both television and digital. Back in India, he launched Tamil news channels News7 Tamil and Cauvery News, and later served as principal consultant for the launch of Marathi channel Lokshahi. Most recently, he helped build and lead the Press Trust of India’s video service and content studio, before stints consulting for Business Today and The Himalayan Times.
Rahul Kanwal, chief executive and editor-in-chief of NDTV, left little doubt about what Sundaram is expected to deliver. “The assignment desk is where a newsroom’s intent becomes action,” he said. “Rajesh brings a rare combination of field experience and leadership in building news operations at scale.”
Sundaram has reported from across India and the world, covering elections, civil conflicts, the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks and the 2008 US presidential election.
At NDTV Profit, he will lead the assignment desk, driving editorial coordination and real-time response across markets and breaking developments. For a business news network sharpening its focus on speed and multi-platform delivery, it has hired a man who has built newsrooms from scratch on three continents. The assignment desk is in good hands.
