News Broadcasting
TV news channels viewer share jumps
MUMBAI: The war may have delivered death and destruction to Iraq, but it certainly came as good news for the news channels. Total TV news viewership has gone up significantly these past few weeks and it has come at a time when new news channels are sprouting all over the place.
And what must be good news for the new news channels is that while there has been some amount of cannibalisation of audience share, more significant has been the increase in the time spent watching the news which has led to viewership jumps for all channels.
Data released by TAM Media that surveyed males 15 years and above across north and west India (including Hyderabad) for a six-week period between 23 February and 5 April threw up some interesting findings. Time (in minutes) spent in a week watching TV news went up from 51 minutes in week one of the survey, shot up to 105 in week four (when the US-led invasion of Iraq commenced) and stabilised at 91 minutes by week six.
Lead news channel Aaj Tak’s total viewership share went up from 2.71 to 5.09, Zee News from 1.21 to 2.13 and Star News from 0.45 to 1.4.
CNN SHOWS LARGEST GAIN, GOES PAST BBC
In terms of sheer jump though it was CNN that had the biggest reason to celebrate. In what is a first for the American channel, it has gone ahead of the Beebs in India. CNN leapt from 0.04 to 0.51 while the BBC increased its viewership from 0.12 to 0.45.
STAR NEWS, SAHARA SAMAY MAKE AN IMPACT
As regards TV news audience share, the data thrown up in week 6 (30 march to 5 April) which is when the new Star News became functional, as also the addition of Sahara Samay to the equation, has had its impact. Aaj Tak’s TV news audience share has dipped from 59 to 51 per cent and Zee News from 26 to 21 per cent. The gainers have been Star News (10 to 14 per cent) and Sahara Samay – 0 to 4 per cent.
CNN has gone up from 1 to 5 per cent, ahead of BBC which rose only a single percentage point from 3 to 4 per cent.
All things considered though Sahara Samay’s has been the most incredible story thus far. It doesn’t have the high-profile presenters that Prannoy Roy’s NDTV boasts, nor the backing of a News Corp and the experience of Fox News that Star News enjoys. But it is certainly making its mark. And if it continues the way it has started, Sahara Samay could well turn out to be the real success story in this round of news channel sparring.
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.
