News Broadcasting
NBC to cash in on ‘Friends’ finale
MUMBAI: It’s called making hay while the sun shines. The final episode of Friends, to be telecast by the end of this fall in the US, will cost advertisers two million dollars for a 30 second spot. By far one of the most popular shows on NBC, the Friends final episode is also to be extended from the usual 30 minutes to two hours.
Consequently, the commercial breaks on the Friends final will be the most expensive ever for a non-sports programme. NBC, say media reports, is asking advertisers for the kind of money usually reserved for the biggest event in the US broadcasting calendar, the Super Bowl, which attracts a 100 million viewers and costs advertisers up to three million dollars for a 30-second ad.
Needless to say, the two-hour finale to the 10th and final series of Friends will be one of the most hyped entertainment programmes in TV history and NBC is setting its ad rates accordingly. Currently, the show attracts 20 million viewers and ad spots on the show sell for $ 450,000. Friends is setting a record even by extending the finale into a two hour episode. In May 1998, when Seinfeld – then America’s most popular TV comedy – reached the end of its run, the hour-long finale was a national event attracting more than 80 million viewers. Friends is likely to receive similar viewer attention, say media watchers.
NBC has also decided to ask viewers to vote for their six favourite episodes and will broadcast them in the weeks leading up to the finale next May.
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.
