News Broadcasting
Prasar Bharati invites applications for acquisition of ready-made TV content
Mumbai: Public broadcaster Prasar Bharati has invited applications for acquisition of ready-made TV content. The applications should be submitted via the content acquisition portal of Prasar Bharati by 7 February.
The broadcaster has specified that the content must be targeted towards an audience of children and young adults up to the age of 18 in the languages specified on the portal. The applied content should not have been aired either fully or partly from any free-to-air distribution platform like DD Free Dish in the territory of India through terrestrial, cable or direct-to-home mode during the previous three calendar years.
The content should be about half hour or one hour long and for a license period of one year or three years or on a perpetual basis for multiple telecasts on multiple channels of Doordarshan and should be provided in XDCAM 4:2:2 format on a hard disk.
The applicant is required to submit a non-refundable processing fee of Rs 10,000 plus 18 per cent GST in respect of each proposal. The processing fee is not payable in respect of proposals from ministries/departments/undertakings either of central government or state government.
The content rights holder who got themselves registered at the content acquisition portal in response to the notification on 11 October 2021 issued under policy guidelines for acquisition of licensed ready-made audio-visual content need not register again.
News Broadcasting
Mihir Bhatt appointed as chief content officer at News18 Studios
The media veteran brings two decades of experience across television, digital and radio to one of India’s biggest broadcast networks, Disney+ Hotstar, Discovery+
NEW DELHI: Network18 has a new strategist in the building. Mihir Bhatt, one of Indian media’s more versatile operators, has joined News18 Studios as chief content officer, stepping into a role that will see him shape content strategy, build multi-platform properties and drive brand partnerships across the network.
Bhatt brings more than two decades of experience spanning television, digital and radio, with a track record of doing something rare in Indian media: combining editorial ambition with hard commercial results. At Times Network, where he served as managing editor and chief business officer of Times Influence, he built one of the industry’s more respected content studios, launching marquee properties such as the India Economic Conclave, the Times Now Summit and Leaders of Tomorrow. He also pushed the network into premium OTT territory through tie-ups with Disney+ Hotstar and Discovery+.
His resume stretches well beyond the studio. Bhatt has led Global Investor Summits for multiple state governments, worked alongside the World Economic Forum and played a pivotal role in launching the Indian Pickleball League. Earlier, as editor of Zee Business, he pioneered investor education initiatives that are still cited as industry benchmarks.
At News18 Studios, Bhatt will report to chief executive S Shivakumar and will oversee the studios execution vertical alongside revenue verticals covering emerging markets and campaigns. Sidharth Saini, Hemanth Kumar and Nimar Sarkaria will work under him.
Rahul Joshi, managing director and editor-in-chief of Network18 Group, made the announcement in an internal communication. “Mihir’s ability to build enduring brands, foster strategic partnerships and navigate a rapidly evolving media landscape will be instrumental as we continue to strengthen our position and explore new avenues of growth in the Studios business,” Joshi said.
In a media industry lurching between disruption and reinvention, Network18 has bet on a man who has spent two decades thriving in exactly that chaos. Whether he can do it again, at greater scale, is the question worth watching.
