News Broadcasting
Times Now-Republic TV on-air ratings spat continues as each claims top spot in week 23
BENGALURU: Last week on Thursday, just post 11 am, the newborn Republic TV and the grand old lady of the English news business Times Now, starting flashing BARC data, each claiming the number one spot in viewership. The channels have continued this on-air spat once again. Republic TV says that it has done it once again, if one were to go by the Indian ratings monitor Broadcast Audience Research Council of India (BARC) numbers flashed by it on the channel for week 23 (Saturday, 3 June 2017 to Friday, 10 June 2017).
Republic TV claims that it has been number one across all segments in week 23. It claims 147 per cent greater viewership than Times Now across all segments across India and 247 per cent greater viewership than Times Now at super primetime.
In the meantime, Times Now has been flashing on its channel that it is the number one in the English news genre with a relative viewership of 42 per cent while putting Republic TV at second place with a relative viewership of 31 per cent. Times Now puts CNN News 18 9 per cent India Today TV’s relative share at 7 per cent, and NDTV 24×7 at 5 per cent each.
Republic TV shared viewership details of the other peers in the English News genre: Times Now-28.8 per cent; CNN News 18-12 per cent; India Today News-11 per cent; NDTV-19 per cent; News X-2.5 per cent.
“The viewership debate is over, we are number 1. It is now one month since we have been in operation and we have now become undisputed leaders in this genre. The game has just begun and we are now absolutely unstoppable. We will take the game to the next level,” declared Republic TV editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami last week, during a live telecom with Republic TV anchor Hariharan aired on his channel, just after 11:15AM.
It may be recalled that in a coordinated move, English News channels had pulled out of BARC on 18 May, only to return to the BARC fold on from midnight of 26 May. English News channels backed by the News Broadcast Association had stripped their signals of BARC audio watermarks. The NBA had requested BARC not to publish Republic TV’s ratings, alleging that the channel has resorted to rampant multiple LCN placements on cable TV networks across the country.
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.
