Booming: Television News Channels in India
News programmes have suddenly become hot property and are vying for attention along with other popular programmes telecast in numerous channels. All major television broadcasters are including one or more news channel to their bouquet. The greatest headache for launching a satellite channel is programme software for 24 / 7. On this juncture, newsgathering is a major task for the 24-hour news channels. To cater this, the emerging electronic channels have always made an effort to cover all of the incidents no matter position, location and time. These channels not merely revolutionized the idea of news on Indian television but also changed this news formats. Before 1990s, Doordarshan had monopolized newscast on Indian television and in addition turned the news programs into a dowdy exercise. The private channels made what is the news an important commodity like food, cloth and shelter. The forte of today’s news bulletins is the topicality, objectivity, glossy editing and high-quality visuals. News has traveled quite a distance from your DD era. From Events in your area to International events, breaking news to news analysis, television soap to page3 news, every happening comes under purview of reports. In the following paragraphs, we have covered some significant changes in news broadcasting in India before and after the Gulf War.Sun TV
Indian Television - Flash Back
Television in India is undergoing significant alterations in the present liberalized environment. To understand these changes, one needs to have some brief idea of the path covered by the television stations to date. Your journey started as an experimental basis using a financial grant from UNESCO in 15th September 1959. The makeshift studio at Akashvani Bhavan in New Delhi was chosen for location of the experiment. The experiment began with one-hour program, broadcast two times a week, on community health, citizen rights, education and traffic sense etc. As far as news can be involved, it was launched exactly six years following your inception of television broadcasting. Daily one-hour program having a news bulletin was served to the Indian viewers. Only one major problem with television was that you could not enjoy the original colour of the objects due to monochrome transmission. First multi-color programme was the top Minister’s address to the nation from Red Fort in Delhi on India’s 35th Independence Day. Inside the 24 hour, DD National channel premiered. The aim of launching the nation's channel is nurturing national integration, and inculcating a feeling of pride in Indians. Indian viewers also enjoyed the colored sort of the Asian Games hosted by New Delhi within their drawing room. The protection of major events and other occasions lend a large hand behind the infiltration of television signals towards the nook and corners of the subcontinent. Indian Government procured all possible steps to expand the television broadcasting demographically and geographically. In 1983 television signals were available to just 28% of the population, this had doubled by the end of 1985 by 1990 over 90% of the population had access to television signals. Twenty six years ago, DD Metro channel was put into present an exclusive entertainment for that urban viewers. Initially, this channel was limited to metropolitan cities. Tamil Serial
As a public broadcaster, Doordarshan presented what is the news in naturalized manner. All controversial issues were pushed underneath the carpet. The ruling government stood a strong hang on the tv screen broadcasting. Doordarshan news bulletins were unable to provide the international news towards the national viewers. Objectivity had been the initial casualty as news was invariably slanted to suit the party in power. What is the news was liberated in the confines from the DD newsroom and gained in objectivity and credibility when New Delhi Television (NDTV) produced ‘The World This Week’ in 1988. Individuals were looking forward to the Friday night to watch ‘The World This Week’. This was the sole India-based programme, which looked out on the world. The planet This Week was the most effective current affairs programme about the international scenario and carried nutrients of news, that the regular DD news was failed to carry out. The program is ranked as the country’s finest and a lot popular tv programs. In 1989, NDTV produces India’s first live televised coverage with the country’s general elections. The critical and commercial success of the coverage sets a fresh standard for Indian television. After the Gulf War the press panorama has evolved forever.
Golf War - The Catalyst
Post-1990 satellite tv in India has become transnational naturally. It coincided with the entry of multinational companies in the Indian markets beneath the Government policy of privatization. International satellite television on pc has been available since India by CNN through its coverage from the Gulf War in 1991. In August 1991, Richard Li launched Star Plus, the initial satellite channel beamed the signal to Indian subcontinent. Subhash Chandra’s Zee TV appeared in October 1992. It's India’s first privately owned Hindi channel to cater the eye of Indian viewers. This ignition then Sony along with a little later by domestic channels including Eenadu, Asianet and Sun TV. Entertainment programs had did start to occupy center stage inside the organization’s programming strategies and advertising had become main source of funding. Doordarshan’s earlier mandate to aid in the whole process of social and economic development had clearly been diluted. Doordarshan had faced a stiff competition in news and public affairs programming with international channels like BBC and CNN. Doordarshan planned to market some slots for news programme under sponsored category. In February 1995, NDTV becomes the country’s first private producer of the national news ‘News Tonight’, which aired about the country’s government-owned Doordarshan set a fresh landmark for Indian television because of its on-the-spot reporting with pertinent visuals. Inside the same year, TV Today Network occupied a 20 minutes slot in DD Metro channel and aired a Hindi and current affairs programme ‘Aaj Tak’. This programme came into common use for its comprehensive coverage as well as style presentation by Late S. P. Singh. Still we remembered the sign-up message “Ye Thi Khabar Aaj Tak, Intizar. Kijiye Kal Tak”. Many viewers across India had been watching Aaj Tak being a daily habit because of its innovative kind of news presentation. In addition Nalini Singh’s five-minute busy, condensed daily news capsule Ankhon Dekhi, TV Today Network’s Business Aaj Tak and Newstrack was aired about the Metro channel of Doordarshan. Here is the period when satellite channels targeting entertainment programmes for their respective channels. Doordarshan had been ruled probably the most wanted area ‘news’.
Major Players
Doordarshan’s monopoly was broken in 1992, when private tv stations infiltrated to the Indian boundaries and entertain the viewers whenever you can. Initially of 1990s, the private channels offered only entertainment programmes. The entertainment programs include family drama, comedy serials, children programmes, cartoons, movies, talk shows, recipe shows, musical concerts, non-fiction programmes etc. Private entertainment channels added some infortainment programmes for their Fixed Point Charts (FPC). Keeping the need for infotainment programmes in your mind, the media houses started to produce news magazines, entertainment magazines and news programmes for various channels. India’s premier business and consumer news broadcaster plus a leading media content provider, Television Eighteen India Limited (TV18) started India’s first entertainment magazine ‘The India Show’ on Star Also in 1993. This emerging media powerhouse provided prime time television content to almost all leading satellite channels in India including BBC, Star Plus, Sony Entertainment Television, Zee, MTV and Discovery. Following the India Show, TV18 produced a weekly business news program India Business Report for BBC World. Indian viewers had limited options (like public service broadcaster Doordarshan, BBC and CNN) for watching the television news. For televised news, the viewers needed to watch Dordarshan and some international news channels like BBC or CNN. In this race to provide more news, more information, Zee Television jumped in to the battlefield by launching what is the news channel Zee News in 1995. Good news and current affairs channel revolutionized just how news was delivered to the target audience. Since its inception Zee News has endeavoured is the fastest to provide news, working perfectly into a single objective of Sabse Pahle (Always First). Another round-the-clock news channel, the Murdoch-owned Star TV beamed its exclusively 24-hour news channels, Star News in 1998. Star made a contract of 5 year with Prannoy Roy-owned NDTV (New Delhi Television Company) to offer news content with this news channel.
The untiring exhaustive coverage from the Kargil war between India and Pakistan gained more publicity and attracted more viewers towards the electronic channel. This televised conflict also sets a news benchmark for wartime journalism. Through the Kargil war, common citizens witnessed how their brave Jawans fought despite in hostile conditions and watched world war 2 front live by the exclusively news channels, Star-TV and Zee-News. The live coverage from the battlefield helped to produce a euphoria of patriotism on the list of Indian masses, which later facilitated into collecting huge funds for that welfare of the categories of Kargil martyrs. Every news programme draws the interest of large variety of viewers but Kargil war attracts private broadcasters to take a position more money inside the broadcasting business by launching a news channel. In November 1999, TV18 entered into a 49:51 jv with CNBC Asia to launch CNBC India. TV18 may be the sole program provider to CNBC India, and produces 12 hours of local content per day on this 24-hour satellite channel.
Following your huge success of reports programme ‘Aaj Tak’, TV Today group launched a 24-hour Hindi news channel with the exact same name ‘Aaj Tak’, in December 2000, which takes care of India with insight, courage and many local flavour. Within 11 months of its launch, Aaj Tak become India’s number one news channel and was awarded Best News Channel award from Indian Television Oscars. Some mega events aside from regular interesting items (for example Kandhahar hijack, September 11 attacks, Afghanistan war, attack on Parliament, Iraq war, Godhra carnage and riots) have driven up the viewership. As time passed, NDTV’s five-years contract with Star group for outsourcing of stories and related programming expired on March 2003. With the expiry NDTV forayed into broadcasting business by simultaneously launching two 24-hour news channels; NDTV 24X7 - English news channel and NDTV India - Hindi news channel, which targets the Indian diaspora around the globe. News crazy Indians received more news at faster speed from different channels. Any unusual happening may be caught through the television camera anywhere form Rastrapati Bhawan to bedroom. The strength of TV journalism was become more visible through the major sting operations like Operation West End and Shakti Kapoor Case. This kind of investigative journalism has had with regards to a alternation in the way we take a look at news, amidst new notions of editorial freedom. The world’s largest family ‘Sahara India Parivar’ launched a 24-hour national Hindi news channel, Sahara Samay, in March 28, 2003. Oahu is the first ever city-centric satellite news channels covering 31 cities in India with their own city news bulletins. Keeping the need for news in mind, the Union cabinet approved the proposal to convert the DD Metro to DD news in a meeting held on 3 October 2003. Consequent to these decisions, DD-News channel premiered on 3 November 2003. You might have pointed out that the news channels are language specific. But DD’s news channel contains the twenty-four hours a day news bulletins in Hindi/ English will also be telecast two times a day around the National Network of DD National.
‘Aap Ki Adalat’ fame Rajat Sharma, Sohaib Ilyasi, the man behind the highly successful ‘India's Most Wanted’ and Taun Tejpal, editor-in-chief of Tehelka roped together and launched a free-to-air Hindi news and current affairs channel India TV on May 20, 2004. Indian viewers had more expectations from this channel. The much-awaited news channel hopes to set itself apart from the existing ones by setting new benchmarks of responsible journalism. Speaking about the occasion with the launch, Rajat Sharma, chairman, India TV, said, “We try to alter the way broadcast news reporting is being conducted in the united states. India TV sets new benchmarks by maintaining international standards of responsible and credible news reporting. We are going to avoid graphic depictions of violence and sensationalism of news. We'll uphold the viewer's directly to correct information as well as their right to truth and verity. India TV is not just a news channel, this is a movement.” NDTV as a pioneer in Indian television news, set to produce a fresh revolution in high-quality business news with all the launch of NDTV Profit. NDTV launched this 24-hour business channel on January 17th, 2005.
There is no saturation point in launching of news channel, just booming like sky since the limit. Entertainment channel to infotainment channel, infotainment channel to news channel, news channels to business channel and Business channel to lots more. The satellite channels are more topicality with international standard. When we are talking about topicality, CNBC TV18, the sole business channel, continues to be the medium preferred by India’s decision makers, affluent audiences in the united states since 1999. It has set the interest rate for the development in quantity of television stations by launching a 24-hour consumer channel in Hindi called ‘ Awaaz’. This news channel focusses on empowering consumers on decision-making linked to investment, saving and spending. All of the programmes are providing consumers across different walks of life, including personal finance; variety of markets including commodity, stocks, savings etc.; small enterprises; education & career guidance; and verticals like health, shopping etc.
Another news channel was finally launched in to the already cluttered news space in Indian television. Jagran TV Pvt Limited's news channel, Channel 7 up-linked to the air on 27 March 2005. The channel may be set up to appeal to the vast Hindi-speaking audiences, already being targeted with a slew of reports channels. Channel 7 developed every programme with a bid to appeal to all types of audiences rather than just pre-dominantly male audiences who get attracted towards news channels.
Regional Leaders
To cater a person's eye among the Indians, Doordarshan televises programmes in Hindi and associate Official languages. It has launched numerous Regional Language Satellite Channels (DD - 4 to DD - 11 and DD - 13) and telecast programmes in Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Malayalam, Marathi, Kannada, Telugu, Kashmiri, Oriya and Tamil. The Regional channels relayed by all terrestrial transmitters in the state and additional programmes inside the Regional Language in prime some time and non-prime time available only through cable operators. The Doordarshan regional satellite channels telecast major news programme by incorporating entertainment programmes.
If you think in regards to the private regional channels, they have followed the path of the Your government (i.e Doordarshan). They're neither completely entertainment channel nor exclusively news channel. They're pursuing the middle path and claiming themselves an infotainment channels. The non-public channels televise through the state dominant languages. Rising advertising revenues and increasing numbers of viewers have given the impetus for many big players to enter into the business. Some regional media leaders like ETV, Sun TV, Asianet have a strong grip on the regional market. Some major players tried their luck in different states. Zee television has three regional channels; Zee Marathi, Zee Punjabi and Zee Bangla. Star Network created Tamilnadu by launching Star Vijay, just about the most popular entertainment channels in India broadcasting in Tamil. Besides that ETV Network is a part of the well-established Ramoji Group, has created 12 dedicated infotainment regional channels. ETV network may be the supply of rich entertainment of eight different languages. Those are: Telugu, Bangla, Marathi, Kannada, Oriya, Gujarati, Urdu; and Hindi to viewers in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh. Every ETV Network channel focuses exclusively on its audience’s unique cultural identity, its aspirations and its particular distinct socio-political character. Allow us to take into account the south Indian language Telugu, there are around twelve satellite channels are roaming around the sun with different taste and various flavour. These channels include three news channels, one song-based channels and rest are infotainment channels. When we confine ourselves into news, three channels (ETV2, TV 9 and Teja News) exclusively dedicated to news programmes.
Sahara India Pariwar is proud to possess five news channels because the bouquet of Sahara Samay. These channels are: Sahara Samay NCR, Sahara Samay Mumbai, Sahara Samay Bihar & Jharkhand, Sahara Samay Madhya Pradesh & Chattisgarh, and Sahara Samay Uttar Pradesh & Uttranchal. Sahara Samay has already were able to gain a loyal audience in India via a bouquet of National & Regional News Channels since its launch. These channels are youthful and vibrant channels targeting students and ladies, in addition hardcore news stuff. The regional news channels covers the entire spectrum of genre with specific programs on lifestyle, fashion, food, shopping, conditioning, sports, education, career and city issues, besides giving user-friendly facts about traffic updates, city events, train and air timings, etc. Now national news channels cannot confine its boundary to national level. They can not overlook the regional news as a result of stiff competition from the regional cannels. Regional news channels are entering into your competitors using a strong willpower and in addition by having an make an effort to portrait regional issues in national and international level.