News Broadcasting
Hallmark Channel US claims lead in ‘time spent viewing’ growth
The Hallmark channel may be struggling to find an audience in India but in America the story is different. Hallmark Channel has once again outranked all ad-supported cable and broadcast networks in time spent viewing growth in prime time, an official release states.
The channel has positioned itself as the network consumers are turning to for high-quality programming that is engaging, compelling and relevant. The release states that during the fourth quarter of last year (October, November, December 2002) Hallmark Channel US increased its “time spent viewing” (94 minutes vs. 74 minutes) representing a 27 per cent increase over its fourth quarter 2000 results. The network was followed by the Lifetime and TVLand networks.
Earlier, Hallmark claimed to have ranked number one with a 35 per cent increase in “time spent viewing” growth in third quarter 2001 (third quarter 2001 vs. third quarter 2000).
The figures were calculated by Nielsen Total Activity Report (fourth quarter 2001 vs. fourth quarter 2000, 10/1-12/30/01 vs. 10/2-12/31/00).
Hallmark Channel is a 24-hour television network that provides entertainment programming to a national audience of nearly 44 million subscribers, the release states. The programme service is distributed through 1,700 cable systems, DirecTV (Channel 312) and EchoStar (DISH Channel 185) direct-to-home satellite services and C-Band dish owners across America. Hallmark claims that its combined channels reach 83 million subscribers globally.
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.
