We are always trying to anticipate the next big change: Vineet Jain
The MD of Times Group is IMPACT Person of the Year, 2013 for his industry-shaping initiatives, driving profitability, and setting a benchmark with young and vibrant media products
Vineet Jain, Managing Director of the Times Group is smiling and affable in his Mumbai office as he discusses the “175-year-young” Times of India and its relevance to Gen Y with us before this interview begins. Jain, earlier Delhi-based, has been spending most of his time in Mumbai for the last six months because “all the action is here”. Talk of Bollywood and lifestyle as the USP for a set of ‘young’ media products, and driving the business aggressively into new media — internet, radio and television – it does help to be in Mumbai, and therefore, Jain is here.
The 47-year-old Jain is the face of India’s largest media conglomerate, but is quick to point out that it is his brother Samir Jain, who has drawn the shape and strategy for the empire. Besides managing the Group’s diverse business interests in areas as far apart as vocational education and real estate, the younger Jain’s achievement has been to create compelling media vehicles that offer an excellent environment for advertisers.
Jain is sharp and precise as he talks of creating disruption in the market, using technology to advantage (such as the Alive app with the flagship TOI newspaper) and does not avoid questions about the business that would perhaps qualify as ‘uncomfortable’. Instead, he gives us extremely detailed answers. He also talks of anticipating change in the industry and being future-ready, only refusing to predict what the Times of India will look like ten years later!
Here are excerpts from the conversation:
The Times of India has just turned 175, yet it keeps pace with today’s generation. As key strategist and content architect of the Times Group, what according to you is fundamental to giving the newspaper its young and vibrant image?
I keep telling my colleagues, “Think of the Times as 175 years young, not 175 years old”. We hate status quo. We are always trying to anticipate the next big change. India is a young nation where 52 per cent of the population is 25 years or younger. We were the first to cater to this group, with entertainment and lifestyle supplements such as The Bombay Times, Delhi Times, Bangalore Times, etc. The supplements are an entry point to many of our young readers before they graduate to reading the main newspaper...We don’t like to moralise; we don’t like to talk down. We are proud of our legacy, but we are not stuck in the past. It’s all about the future. It’s about helping the youth realise their full potential. As long as we keep doing that, we will remain a young and vibrant newspaper.
Talking to Ken Auletta of The New Yorker, you have said, “We are not in the newspaper business, we are in the advertising business... If you are editorially minded, you will make all the wrong decisions.” Do you think advertising carries the Times Group’s media products or content?
I wish to reiterate that we are in the advertising business and not in the business of selling news – and I’ll explain why. If we were in the business of selling news, then the cover price we charge readers should have made us profitable. Fact is, subscription price does not come even close to covering the cost of newsprint. As much as 90 per cent of our revenues comes from advertising; effectively, therefore, our advertisers are cross-subsidising our readers. Which is why, I say advertising is at the core of our business model.
Sustaining growth and remaining profitable has a lot to do with how one understands and defines one’s business. Peter Drucker once asked a bottling plant manager what business they were in and he said, “bottling”. Drucker corrected him by saying “you are in the packaging business”. If a soft drinks manufacturer were to define the business as just “soft drinks”, it would never launch juices, water or snacks. Correctly defining your business helps you remain profitable, grow, diversify and make the right strategic decisions. If I had defined my business as selling news or newspapers I would not have aggressively launched lifestyle and entertainment supplements like Bombay Times and Delhi Times; nor would I have expanded into entertainment channels such as Zoom, Romedy Now and Movies Now, or launched Radio Mirchi, or got into out-of-home, or diversified into so many internet verticals. I don’t blame journalists who criticised my statement for misunderstanding this concept because they are not trained in the language of marketing. Lack of clarity and a narrow definition of “selling news” have led to the closure of newspapers in many countries. The Times Group’s understanding of the business, on the other hand, has allowed it to expand the market for newspapers and reach new, relevant audiences; all other newspaper groups have simply imitated us and we are happy that they too have grown as a result.
We have great editors and we have huge respect for them. However, an editorial-driven CEO will tend to take wrong decisions. He will focus only on increasing the number of pages and news content, not focus on advertising. He will price the newspaper too high for the reader, will feel guilty about promoting his brand aggressively and not cut cost aggressively in terms of pages when the economy takes a downturn or the cost of newsprint skyrockets. Therefore, a newspaper CEO has to be balanced and marketing-driven, and manage all the four Ps of marketing -- Product, Price, Place and Promotion.
If the Times of India were to reinvent itself ten years from now, what would be its shape, size and USP?
Ten years is too long a time frame in the ever-changing media landscape to make predictions. Disruptions and technology are changing the way we consume media and indeed the way we live. Today’s business models may no longer work that well tomorrow. Ten years ago, the Times Group was not present in FM radio/TV/ OOH. As a Group, we evolve constantly. We have our finger on the pulse of tomorrow. Our focus has and will always be the customer.
The focus of our creative agencies is television. Do you see this affecting advertising in the print medium?
TV has got incredibly fragmented over the years. And the remote in the viewer’s hands has added to its woes. Smart viewers use devices not only to record programmes, but to also skip ads. The viewer hasn’t spared anyone, not even the leading channels. On the other hand, the newspaper, especially a leading brand such as the TOI, has retained the reader’s attention and continues to engage. The fragmentation in the print medium is negligible.
With consumption of content increasingly on mobile and other screens now, do you think the printed newspaper will be redundant in future?
News consumption will always continue to rise. With growing literacy, the need to consume news will also grow exponentially. With time, the way news is consumed will change. We aim to provide news in whichever way a consumer chooses to have it – on TV, computers, tablets or mobile.
You have successfully led the Times of India to the language newspaper space. With this generation being educated mostly in English, will there be enough readers for the vernacular medium newspaper in future?
It’s true that English is aspirational, and with increasing disposable incomes and evolving lifestyles, particularly in small towns, it will attract newer, affluent consumers. But vernacular is important, especially in these cities and towns; it often meets an intermediate need in the literacy chain, before the transition to English. We want to be present across the value chain, so long as it makes sound business sense.
We have heard of an IPO from the Times Group for some time now. Is it happening anytime soon?
I keep hearing these rumours too! Truth is, we constantly explore and review all options.
The Times Group is going strong with innovative print, television, radio and new media initiatives. Any plans to venture into the B2B segment?
One of our strengths as a group is that we understand consumers. We will hence continue to focus on B2C. However, if opportunities come our way, we are open to exploring these. We always leverage our brand strengths and organisational capabilities.
What are your views on the 10+2 ad cap imbroglio in the television industry? What would be the right way to move forward?
We are opposed to it. As it is, the industry is struggling to make money. Why try and strangulate it further? Let the audience decide. If a channel shows 20 minutes of advertising in an hour, and if viewers don’t like it, they have the freedom to switch to a competing channel at the press of a remote button – at no extra cost. There are hundreds of channels to choose from, no one’s forcing a viewer to stick with any one.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s proposal will hurt niche channels, particularly news channels. They should not kill the basic financial model of these channels which depend on cheap advertising. In addition, the concept of clock hour is redundant in case of news channels where news is breaking round the clock. The concept of ads per hour was supposed to be an average per day and that is why the government never acted on it for many years. Now suddenly, without fully understanding the industry dynamics and profitability, TRAI is misinterpreting the rule book. I think the main role of a regulator should be to promote the industry through reasonable policies. It should enable and not undermine fair competition.
There is a whole debate about Arnab Goswami being a brand by himself, overpowering Times Now. Is that good or bad for the channel?
Times Now has dominant leadership now for over six years. Arnab Goswami has done an incredible job for Times Now, which has established itself as the ‘go-to-TV-channel’ for breaking news, big news and significant views. He is a courageous journalist and respected by viewers of Times Now. Further, the Times brand is what gives viewers the trust and belief in what he and his able team deliver 24X7.
Does it worry you that while Times Now, ET Now and Zoom are popular, the Times Group’s television business is yet to gain scale? Have you ever thought about a GEC or a Hindi or regional language channel to build scale for the business?
The GEC market is overheated. Yes, we are open to evaluating opportunities in GEC and regional if it makes business sense.
What will be the focus for your radio operations now that Phase III auctions are imminent?
The radio business is a successful one for the Times Group. We will participate in Phase III, to grow the industry and the brand Radio Mirchi.
Radio is the only free-to-air electronic medium. Hence, the government should ensure that the infirmities of Phase I and Phase II should be avoided while designing the Phase III auctions. One fails to understand the rationale of the government insisting on high reserve fees for FM Radio spectrum, that too in the face of repeated market failures in the context of reserve fees in the telecom sector.
While competitors have been quick to emulate your business strategies, some ventures such as Medianet and Brand Capital have lent themselves to controversy, as also reports of Times executives driving tough bargains with advertisers to prevent them from advertising with rivals. What is your view of paid news and media ethics, as well as maintaining the proverbial wall between editorial and sales?
Brand Capital helps entrepreneurs and small businesses that don’t have enough cash flows to spend on advertising compete with big companies. It helps businesses grow, India grow and increases competition in the industry. It is almost like a venture capital supporting small businesses with great ideas and products. It helps David take on Goliath. Brand Capital is, simplistically speaking, ad barter for equity. It has nothing to do with editorial – just as normal cash advertisers have nothing to do with editorial. In fact, Brand Capital clients complain that they get more favourable coverage in other newspapers than in ours! We have lost hundreds of crore of rupees in advertising from clients because we have resisted their attempts to influence our editorial policy. These are big corporate houses and government departments and I won’t name them. These very organisations fund other newspapers in return for favourable coverage.
The Chinese wall between advertising and editorial is strongest in our group and we are proud of it. Because the Times is highly profitable and advertising-driven, we don’t allow any advertiser to influence our edit coverage. On the other hand, smaller newspapers which are financially vulnerable tend to buckle under pressure from such large advertisers.
As for Medianet, advertorials have been an established practice among the most respected newspapers, magazines and TV channels globally. We only emulated global best practices and made it better -- Medianet is the purest form of advertorial. In television, it is called advertiser funded programming (AFP) which is the life-blood of the best channels in India and abroad. In TV serials and movies, it is called product placements. Medianet is actually the most honest form of advertorial because we have created separate special supplements of entertainment and lifestyle for it, unlike other media who have mixed it in the main product seamlessly. In fact, advertorials/Medianet strengthen the Chinese wall between advertising and editorial and make it transparent instead of the advertising department putting pressure on editorial to write puff pieces on clients or clients using PR agencies to plant stories through journalists. We are truly proud of our ethical practices and can claim that they are among the best in the world.
With regard to paid news, let’s not paint the entire media with the same brush. Paid news is predominantly news articles sponsored by political parties. The politicians need to clean up their act before they blame the media. If political news was promoted as an advertisement or had the disclaimer of an advertorial, it would have been as per established global practice. In reality, the government must realise that Doordarshan can be deemed as paid news. Also, there are many media owners/editors who are either affiliated or belong to certain political parties. Will the government cancel their licence? The ownership of media by political parties is a bigger problem than beating up two or three newspapers over some lapses of the past, which they have corrected.
Expansion, innovation and differentiation have been your forte... What’s next on your agenda for the Times Group? What new frontiers are you looking at?
There are several opportunities yet to be tapped by us within media and entertainment, and our first priority would be to focus on these. But given our presence in media, we have started looking at sectors such as vocational education, for example our initiative TimesPro. On the internet side, we are looking at acquisitions instead of starting ground up.
What are the challenges you see in the functioning of the Times Group?
While it may appear that our Group is focused on a single sector – media – we actually comprise some very different businesses, each of which need very different skill-sets. We’ve hence structured ourselves as a set of stand-alone, specialist organisations, each focused on its own line of business. At the same time, with increasing convergence in technology as well as media consumption, we will progressively need to unlock synergies between the different parts of the organisation. A key challenge for our Group will be to balance these two conflicting forces: the need for specialisation and the need for synergy.
Do you think that the current political and media ecosystem favour the growth of a free and fair media?
No, it does not. For instance, the proposed ad cap on TV channels, new rules on appointment of directors in broadcast companies, the continuing bar against the private sector entering news FM, periodic efforts to intimidate social media, controlling and influencing the salary structure of journalists through the wage board, new rules and acts being rewritten to punish and control media, etc. indicate directly or indirectly, that there seem to be attempts to restrict freedom of speech and freedom of expression. Certainly, the media has a duty to be responsible. But a few black sheep shouldn’t be used as an excuse to clamp down on everyone.
The foundation of any democracy relies heavily on an independent and pluralistic media. The government’s role should be limited to encouraging self regulation by the industry. Governments, by nature, always find it a challenge to resolve issues satisfactorily, and hence have a desire to control the media which candidly covers performance (or non-performance!) of the government of the day.
If we ask you to introspect and describe yourself, what would your answer be?
I have a natural flair to aggressively listen to several points of view. I do not let my ego come in the way of accepting/rejecting ideas or opportunities. Gut feeling and instinct form an integral part of my persona.
What are some of the things that you wish you could have achieved in life and in your role as MD of the Times Group?
I was in my twenties when I thought of venturing into cable networks, DTH and GEC. I even drew up plans. But I suppressed my gut feeling and instinct and did not pursue those ideas as aggressively as I should have – perhaps I was too young.
Do you believe in maintaining a work-life balance?
For me, work is my life. I find my work, and the sheer variety and diversity of what I do exciting, engaging and fun.
Which is your favourite brand among the offerings of the Times Group? Which of them would you single out as having the most potential?
Times is the Master Brand. Owing to its overwhelming success, we have effortlessly leveraged this Master Brand – Times – across platforms such as Times Now, Times Pro, Navbharat Times, Economic Times, etc.
How do you function in a crisis? What is your crisis management mantra?
Temperamentally, I am cool and do not lose my composure. I tend to view crises as an opportunity to evaluate my leadership teams.
What are some of the things you look forward to personally at this point?
I wish I could travel more. I have never taken more than 10 days off in any year over the last 15 years.
One learns from life. Would there be any incident in your life that has made you suffer a temporary setback, but proved to be of immense value and learning in the long run?
I am fortunate that I have not suffered any setbacks.
On being voted IMPACT Person of the Year, 2013
While I am delighted at being voted the IMPACT Person of the Year, I accept this on behalf of my brother Samir Jain, Vice Chairman, and on behalf of the Times Family.
The centre of our universe has and will always be our readers, listeners and viewers. We have no political masters; nor do we have any hidden agenda. If we take anybody’s side, it is that of our readers, listeners and viewers.
Editorial views on all our platforms are aimed at leading opinion and driving change. This has become a habit in our Group. We can, with some modesty, claim that governments, legislatures and even courts have time and again taken cognizance of our views and acted on them. We do not seek power or influence, but we do want to use all our media platforms to do good.
“At 23, I internalised my brother’s message”
When I was fresh out of college, all of 23 years old, at a formal meeting with senior managers of the Times Group, I heard my brother Samir Jain, Vice Chairman of the Group, talk about “What is the business we are in?” What I vividly recall is his passionate and painstaking effort at explaining that we are in the business of advertising and not in the business of selling newspapers. In retrospect, I feel I had internalised this message to such an extent that it provided the impetus for me to explore and diversify into all potential advertising-driven media businesses like radio, tv, internet and outdoor.
I admire my brother deeply for his brilliance and the manner in which he’s transformed the Group from the time he took over 35 years ago. If print media in India is doing well, unlike in most parts of the world, it’s because of the innovations he introduced. Almost every media house and publisher said his “experiments” wouldn’t work, but eventually they all copied him. His vision and original thinking reshaped Indian newspapers, and gave it a new growth trajectory. As I grew into the business, he gave me more and more space, freedom and support for new ventures. Above all, he has been a loving and supportive elder brother.
Read more news about (internet advertising India, internet advertising, advertising India, digital advertising India, media advertising India)
For more updates, be socially connected with us onInstagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook Youtube & Whatsapp
TOP STORIES
Will NTO 2.0 be able to meet the objectives this time?
Industry experts have expressed concerns on whether TRAI will be able to fulfill its goals like empowering consumers and reducing TV bills or will it lead to more rounds of amendments........!!!!
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s second round of amendments to the New Tariff Order has come under immense scrutiny lately. While the regulatory body has been contesting that NTO 2.0 will usher in better consumer offerings, more flexible tariff schemes and increased choices for consumers, several industry players have questioned this justification.
“Earlier, there was lack of clarity on the pricing and there was no set MRP for channels. The consumers too didn’t have the power to select the channels that they wished to watch. The main objective of bringing the New Tariff Order was to empower the consumer to be able to select channels. However, NTO 2.0 clearly indicates that NTO 1 could not achieve this core objective as the consumer ended up paying more,” said an industry expert on the condition of anonymity.
Another analyst said, “When TRAI came up with NTO 1, they aimed to bring in transparency and empower consumers, but they couldn’t meet this objective of giving consumers a choice and reducing the TV bills. What is the guarantee that NTO 2.0 will meet those objectives and MRPs won’t be revised again?”
Even the regulator mentioned in its official statement that the aim of allowing consumers to select channels that they wanted had got scuttled due to various issues during the implementation of the New Tariff Order. However, the regulator has also claimed that the framework was quite successful in various fronts like “establishing a harmonised business processes in the sector, level-playing-field, bringing in transparency in TV channel pricing, reducing litigations among stakeholders and providing equal opportunities to smaller Multi System Operators (MSOs)”.
Contesting this claim further was one of the broadcasters who said: “After the implementation of NTO 1, the broadcasters witnessed a sharp decline in viewership and in advertising revenue as well. Now with NTO 2.0, where is the level-playing field as the authority has capped channel pricing at Rs 12 as against Rs 19 in the past? Content is expensive and broadcasters invest huge amount of money in content creation. How will this benefit the broadcasters?”
Among the key concerns raised by the Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) were - arbitrary reduction of the MRP cap from Rs 19 to Rs 12 for channels to be part of a bouquet, imposition of twin conditions on bouquet pricing and restricting incentives only to a la carte.
Another important objective of NTO 1 was to reduce disputes among the industry stakeholders. An industry expert said, “There was no transparency in the revenue of broadcasters and DPOs. The value chain was not defined. The dispute among the broadcasters versus cable operators, and MSO versus LCOs were brought up before TDSAT on a regular basis. TRAI also wanted to regulate the entire industry and bring in regulation so that everybody followed a similar format.” This objective was achieved to some extent with fixed pricing, he said.
According to TRAI, the amendments are expected to result in a healthier and structured growth of the Broadcasting and Cable Services sector. However, these were the same objectives TRAI mentioned while introducing the New Tariff Order in 2018, industry players have pointed out with several players in the media ecosystem raising their concerns.
Read more news about (internet advertising India, internet advertising, advertising India, digital advertising India, media advertising India)
For more updates, be socially connected with us onInstagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook Youtube & Whatsapp
ShareSun TV Network revenue up 6% to Rs 795.58 crore in Q2 FY2019
Total income for the quarter stood at Rs 867.72 crore as against Rs 811.67 crore for the corresponding quarter last year
Sun TV Network Limited, the Indian television broadcasters that operates Satellite Television Channels across four languages of Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam, airs FM radio stations across India and owns the SunRisers Hyderabad Cricket Franchise of the Indian Premier League.
For the quarter ended 30th September 2019, the company reported increased revenue by 6% at Rs 795.58 crores, as against Rs 749.55 crores for the corresponding quarter ended 30th September 2018. The Total Income for the quarter ended 30th September 20 19 also was higher by around 7% at Rs 867.72 crores as against Rs 811.67 crores for the corresponding quarter ended 301 h September 2018.
Subscription revenues for the quarter were up by approximately 17% at Rs 39 7.3 l crores as against Rs 339.79 crores for the corresponding quarter ended 30th September 2018. EBITDA for the quarter ended 30th September'2019 was Rs 468 .74 crores as against Rs 553.97 crores for the corresponding quarter ended 30th September 2018. The Profit after taxes for the current quarter was up by approximately 4% at Rs 366.5 1 crores as against Rs 351.32 crores for the corresponding quarter ended 30th September 2018.
After accounting for the other comprehensive income (net of taxes), the Total Comprehensive Income for the quarter ended 301 h September 2019 was up 4 % at Rs 366.29 crores as against Rs 351.38 crores for the corresponding quarter ended 30th September 2018.
At the Board Meeting held today, November 12th, the Board of Directors have declared an Interim Dividend of Rs. 2.50 per share (50 %) on a face value of Rs.5.00 per share.
Read more news about (internet advertising India, internet advertising, advertising India, digital advertising India, media advertising India)
For more updates, be socially connected with us onInstagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook Youtube & Whatsapp
TRAI must stop consultation on placement, marketing & DPO- broadcaster pacts: IBF.
These agreements are beyond TRAI’s jurisdiction, the Indian Broadcasting Foundation has said
The Indian Broadcasting Foundation has asked the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India not to go ahead with consultation on placement, marketing and agreements between DPOs and broadcasters, media reports said.
These agreements are beyond TRAI’s jurisdiction, the IBF has said.
TRAI cannot regulate aspects of the DPO-broadcaster relationship if they are not related to distribution of TV channel signals, the IBF is reported to have said.
The foundation has said in respect to the issue of misuse of target market criteria by DPOs that regional channels cannot be restricted only to states where the particular language is being predominantly spoken. Availability of all channels must be determined ad per choice of consumers across the country.
IBF has also said that TRAI should stop the requirement of having 5% subscriber for being aired by a DPO.
Read more news about (internet advertising India, internet advertising, advertising India, digital advertising India, media advertising India)
For more updates, be socially connected with us onInstagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook Youtube & Whatsapp
Sony Pictures Network India reports total revenue of Rs 6,309 crore
The company has witnessed digital and licensing income increase by 136.36% to Rs 847.1 crore
Sony Pictures Network India posted total revenue of Rs 6309.9 crore in the financial year 2018-19 as compared to Rs 6428.0 crore during the previous years. The broadcaster witnessed a decrease of 1.84% in total revenue.
The company recorded profit after tax was Rs. 3,46.4 crore for the year as against a profit after tax of Rs. 4,47.2 crore in the previous year, a fall of 22.54%. According to the financial statement by The Ministry of Corporate Affairs, SPNI recorded consolidated revenue of Rs. 64,25.3 crore and consolidated profit after tax Rs. 4,14.3 crore for the year.
SPNI has not responded to the query sent by exchange4media at the time of filing this report.
In FY 19, the broadcaster’s revenue from operations decreased by 0.85 to Rs 6223.7 crore from Rs 62,77.2 crore in FY 2018. Advertising income declined 13.55% to Rs 31,78.6 crore while subscription income declined 1.9% to Rs 1962.9 crore. Further, the company's revenue from distribution and advertising time has increased by 5.58 % to Rs 219.6 crore from Rs 208 crore. Also, the revenues were up 136.36% to Rs 847.1 crore from Rs 358.4 crore in digital and licensing income. In distribution and licensing of movies, the company registered a fall 55.16 % to Rs 15.2 crore of revenue.
During the financial year 2018-19, the company launched its first Marathi language general entertainment channel- Sony Marathi. The statement said, “The channel's opening was encouraging with 21% reach and 30 GRPs in the launch week. The content was well received by the audience and several of the programs have won accolades.”
The company is also focusing on the production of its own content. It is producing Kashmiri and Marathi versions of its famous show Kaun Banega Crorepati, besides the Hindi version. The company is also producing content for third party streaming platforms
Read more news about (internet advertising India, internet advertising, advertising India, digital advertising India, media advertising India)
For more updates, be socially connected with us onInstagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook Youtube & Whatsapp
I've been in media for 30 years and it feels like I'm just getting started: Uday Shankar
Uday Shankar, President, The Walt Disney Company, Asia Pacific, and Chairman, Star and Disney India, shared vignettes of his journey while delivering the AAAI Subhas Ghosal Memorial Lecture 2019
Amidst an audience packed with the who’s who of the media industry, Uday Shankar, President, The Walt Disney Company, Asia Pacific, and Chairman, Star and Disney India, delivered the AAAI Subhas Ghosal Memorial Lecture 2019.
“Three decades ago, when I was starting out as a newspaper journalist, I hadn’t imagined that someday the most distinguished of my peers would be interested in what I might have to say.” But then, 30 years ago, I had no idea that I wasn’t just starting out to earn a living; I was embarking on a discovery of India and that I would get to know this country in a way that probably no other profession would allow me to,” Shankar exclaimed as he delved deeper into his journey so far.
Starting his career first as a journalist and then as a broader media professional let Shankar observe and understand the country deeply, objectively and uniquely. “As I slowly discovered, my profession also equipped me with an ability to impact this country and its people – both individually and collectively – in a way that few professions could have,” he remarked.
The industry leader shared some vignettes of his journey to illustrate this point. Recollecting an incident when he was barely a few weeks into The Times of India, Shankar said his Editor had asked him to do a review of the immunisation mission that the Government of India had launched to vaccinate people against preventable diseases. “Here I thought that a career in journalism would give me a chance to hobnob with the high and the mighty but my Editor obviously had other plans.”
Shankar said his brief was to examine the real impact that the immunisation mission was making on the lives of ordinary people and this landed him in Purnea, a district in the northeastern part of Bihar, where he spent a week trudging through villages crippled by extreme poverty.
And what he saw there changed his worldview forever. “I saw how a vaccine, worth less than what I paid for a meal at the Nirula’s restaurant in Delhi, could make a permanent difference to the future of a child and often a family. And this wasn’t true for only one or a few families… I saw villages after villages and I saw them day after day. On the other hand, I also saw how difficult it was…even with the best of intent...to deliver that vaccine to someone that could change a life. I saw some of the most dedicated and driven healthcare professionals with no expectations of any returns. Of course, there were slackers and even crooks, but I saw an overwhelming number of ordinary professionals who were driven by a sense of duty and a desire to help the helpless. This was all very different from what I, as a firebrand student and activist in JNU, had believed and argued about,” Shankar said.
He noted that the real India was a lot more layered and nuanced and the worst mistake one could make was to try to put it into stereotypes and clichéd ideological categories. That experience went on to become one of Shankar’s critical lenses for looking at India for the rest of his life. “The reality is complex… very complex… whether for a journalist or for a businessman or a politician. The ones who succeed are those who are able to grapple with all elements of the complexities and do not rush to hasty conclusions,” he asserted.
Sharing more about his experiences, Shankar said: “I could go on about the experiences that have shaped my understanding of India and built in me a life-long desire to examine the facts for myself and not be swayed by claimed superior wisdom. But not everyone has the luxury or the facility to dive into facts or situations themselves. That is why they come to us, the media folks – the journalists, the advertisers and the story tellers because they believe that we can help them make sense of their world. They trust us and our assessment and our judgement.”
How critical is that trust was brought home to him one winter morning almost 20 years ago when he was running Aaj Tak, a 24-hour news channel that he had helped launch for the India Today Group. “We had run a news break on Aaj Tak about a school bus accident in Noida. The information was only partially correct. We were right about the accident but the school that we mentioned had many branches and we had mentioned the wrong branch. We recognised our mistake and corrected it within 20-30 minutes. Throughout that day, I was getting calls from a woman who was working for the government. My assistant said she was very keen to speak to me but maintained that the call was personal. Finally, after several hours I returned her call. She thanked me and was very polite but what she told me still haunts me. It seems she was a war widow who was supporting her two kids who went to the same school whose bus we had mistakenly claimed was involved in the accident. The accident had happened near her house. She told me that since she lost her husband in Kargil, she was always fearful of something happening somewhere, due to which she might lose whatever remained of her fractured world. She told me Aaj Tak was her window to the world and at her home the channel was always on because she believed it always alerted her about what lay ahead.
“She said, for a moment, Aaj Tak had brought her world crashing down. For a few minutes, the channel that was her most trusted ally in this fearful world had turned her world upside down...falsely. In a very calm voice, she told me she thought we were always to be trusted and were even infallible, but we broke her trust with that mistake. And that she could never trust us again. For a moment, I thought she was overreacting, after all we were human too. But as her world slowly sank in, I understood what she meant. She had given me the most valuable lesson about the centrality of trust and credibility in our business. While she was talking about news, this is no different in entertainment or in advertising or in any other part of our business. For the last 20 years, her words still echo in my years… and even now she often serves as voice of caution to me. Am I breaking someone’s trust to promote my business or my self-interest. I hope I don’t fail her again,” Shankar said as he opened up.
During the speech, he also looked back at an incident that changed the course of his career in a big way. Shankar acknowledged that even as a newspaper reporter he was smitten by TV. “The year was 1991, and the event was the First Gulf War being telecast on CNN - just my idea of love at first sight! I just wanted to do TV news. One day, my wife said that instead of just wishing that I had an opportunity why didn’t I do something about it. I was well settled, a senior editor at a niche but respected publication called Down To Earth, but my wife’s words had the right effect on me and the next day I quit my job.”
After struggling without a regular income for over six months, during which his wife’s earning was the only thing to go by, Shankar found a job at a news bulletin that Zee was launching. But there was a difficult trade-off – he had to take a salary cut of more than 50 per cent. “A journalist’s salary wasn’t very high anyway, but a 50 per cent cut! That hurt. But I took it,” he said. What followed was a period of incredible financial challenges for about five years, then came Aaj Tak and his personal situation also became comfortable. “Aroon Purie is a fair employer. But this period of struggle was of a series of learnings – personal and professional. However, the most important lesson that I learnt was to follow my heart, hear my inner voice and not worry too much about the consequences when one is convinced that this is the right thing to do. I have followed that ever since... and it has held me in good stead,” Shankar asserted.
Revealing another life lesson that he had picked up along the way, Shankar recounted the time when he had been running Aaj Tak for a few years and was incredibly successful and comfortable. “But a question began to nag me – how much of the success of Aaj Tak was mine and how much of it came to me because I happened to be at the right place at the right time. The only way was to test myself once again,” he said.
Along came an offer from Star News and Shankar took it. “On the face of it, it was a bad decision. Star News was at the bottom of the heap and wasn’t falling further because there was no further depth to fall. Once I took over, I realised that content, which I understood and had been brought in to do, was just one of its problems - its marketing, distribution, sales, morale, leadership and whatever else that you can think of had gone wrong. The problem was that I didn’t know anything about any of this and there was no one else who cared or was willing to help. Star News was as messed up as anything could ever be. All the success and equity that I had created for myself was at risk. I should have run for my life. Instead, I decided to dive headlong and took over as CEO. Everyone thought I was going to break all the previous records for the most disastrous stint as a media CEO. The problem was that even I couldn’t disagree with that forecast. I knew nothing of running a business, let alone fixing a broken business. But as a journalist I had learnt one thing – that when you don’t know something, go to people who understand it better than you. That’s what I did. I went on and hired some good people. People who were good at their jobs but made me look really stupid in that area. Of course, content was my forte. So I focused on content and hiring good talent, and I focused on not being defensive about what I didn’t know. I also asked them many questions… I challenged them to think different. Slowly we turned the tide. Star News moved from the bottom of the pile to the top. It also got me the offer from the then NewsCorp to run Star India. This was by far the most coveted and prestigious job for a media professional. It was a great reward for what I had done so far,” Shankar revealed.
He contended that there were many who found NewsCorp and the Murdochs’ decision pretty shocking. “In all honesty, I too wondered why would I be offered that job? Star then was much smaller but was still one of the biggest media companies in India. At Star News, at least content was my forte. Here I had no such advantage. I had no experience of entertainment content... and even less of other areas of business. I recall discussing this with me wife and my daughter, who was very young then. I asked them if I was taking a risk. Very innocently, my daughter asked me what risk did I think I was taking? She said ‘aren’t the Murdochs the ones who are taking the risk?’ So that was the context in which I walked in,” said Shankar.
What didn’t seem to help matters was that there was an exodus from the company because two of the most formidable former executives of Star were launching their own channels and clearly the staff at Star India had more faith in them than in me.
“First and foremost, from my journalistic experience, I was aware that a crisis could be a tremendous opportunity and what I had walked into Star was a crisis,” remarked Shankar. However, instead of putting a patchwork to quickly fix it he decided to play the long game and do the right things. “A lot of very good and senior people had left. I decided I shall over-index on intelligence, youthfulness and irreverence. I also decided to discount experience. Oxymoronic as it might sound...in my experience... cliched thinking and laziness come with the package called experience. By the way, no one in my leadership had any previous media experience either. But I was convinced that between the people at Star and me, there was enough understanding of media in the company,” he recounted.
This unleashed really powerful forces in the company. “The new talent questioned ways of doing things in media… and the media veterans at Star questioned them. I had set one ground rule: we won’t follow you because of who you are. You have to convince the room with facts and arguments. I asked a lot of questions to everyone and also pushed everyone to question me and others. Challenging and questioning the status quo or the dominant thinking became the culture of Star. That, I would like to believe, is still how it is. Hindi was the most profitable market in entertainment and Star was its leader. Even as our leadership was under pressure from new challengers, we were going into regional markets and once again, with the same approach – to disrupt the status quo in each of those markets, except perhaps in Kerala where we were the market,” continued Shankar.
Another aspect the maestro revealed was what he had learnt from cricket - that in a winning team everyone, including the captain, must have a very clear role and not just to that person but to everyone. “As we were rebuilding Star, it was very clear who would deliver what. Unfortunately, in a winning team, it’s also possible for a person to just do the odd job and get by because the team is winning. Culturally, that is probably more destructive than anything. I have tried to guard against that. Honestly, it can be a big challenge in bigger and successful companies,” Shankar said.
He further pointed out that one would be surprised to know how few content companies have content at their core. “At Star, I have tried to push that several years ago to disrupt Star Plus itself, to challenge Star Plus, to shut down wildly successful shows to try out new story tellers... and above all to tell stories that did not fit in the usually “experienced” understanding of good stories. The best example of that is - Satyamev Jayate. It was a show that everyone thought didn’t belong on an entertainment channel. After all, who in their right mind would advise an entertainment channel to run a show on the Sunday morning slot, discussing delicate social issues with the entire family sitting around? But in the hindsight, Satyamev Jayate made a real impact on shaping our society, and I say this with a touch of pride.”
Then there was sports…famously the graveyard of media companies…but Star decided to get into sports. “We doubled down on cricket – ICC, BCCI and then IPL. No media company had ever invented so much in cricket or perhaps in any one sport as we had. Then we decided to double down on Indian languages. As if that wasn’t enough, we decided to risk our destiny on such sports as kabaddi. It’s worked out well…our sports business is still very much work in progress, as is the sports consciousness in India. But we are surely building one of the most exciting franchises in the world,” Shankar added.
But the next adventure was even crazier. “When India was dismissed as a data dark market and mobile was a device only for talking, we decided to launch Hotstar. Everyone thought that we were crazy…we certainly were. But we believed in this country…it’s surprising ability to leapfrog and we believed in ourselves. With Hotstar, once again we went by our playbook – get the best talent that you could and disrupt the ecosystem. Streaming was still supposed to be a catch-up medium. We decided to put all our live sports on it, we even decided to put our entertainment content on Hotstar ahead of its airing on our channels.”
Shankar also spoke about the advertising campaign that said ‘Get Over TV’. “India’s biggest TV company was talking about getting over TV, and that too, the campaign ran most aggressively on our own TV channels. The verdict was that this time our craziness had crossed all limits, even our colleagues at Star were aghast and upset this time. Maybe we went too far but without that we couldn’t have created the most successful video streaming platform outside of the US and China, that too in a country which was not supposed to be ready for streaming. When we were launching Hotstar, a senior executive at one of the global tech and video giants had warned us – ‘go ahead and try it… you will lose a lot of money and effort and then you will come to us begging to host your content. Don’t worry... we will be kind.’ Now they can’t get tired of hiring our talent… not just one company, any global tech and media company that’s active in India seems to have just one destination to pick up talent – Star India. It is annoying but it is also a tribute to the team that we have at Star India. Thanks to Hotstar, people of this country can consume high quality drama, movies and sports on their 30 dollar mobile phones, no matter where they are. Of course, Jio has been an incredible partner in that journey,” he shared.
“I am in media for 30 years and it feels like I am just getting started. Because the media industry has allowed me to not only understand and experience India in an unbelievable way, but over the years we have become change agents for India. At Star, we don’t just believe in a better India, we believe in our duty to participate and shape that India. Of course, when a company like the Walt Disney Company values and embraces the business we have built, the feeling is immensely gratifying,” Shankar said as he signed off.
Read more news about (internet advertising India, internet advertising, advertising India, digital advertising India, media advertising India)
For more updates, be socially connected with us onInstagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook Youtube & Whatsapp
Why TV distribution firms have taken the OTT plunge
Apart from providing TV channels to OTT players, distribution operators are also acquiring and launching their own digital platforms
The rise of digital consumption has led to fierce competition in the media industry in the bid to acquire new customers and retain existing ones. Apart from broadcasters getting into content generation, TV distribution companies have taken the plunge into acquisition of new content, launching of new digital platforms along with distribution of TV and OTT content.
For instance, Tata Sky's DTH (Direct-To-Home) service provider partnered with OTT platforms like Hotstar, Sun NXT and Eros Now to launch its digital content service - Tata Binge - and the service was priced at Rs 249 per month. The viewers can watch thousands of movies, TV shows, curated short videos and missed episodes of TV shows aired in the last seven days. In 2018, Tata Sky signed a deal with London-based TV channel Shorts TV and made its content available on the Tata Sky app. Dish TV, too, has forged partnerships with OTT platforms and launched its own OTT app Watcho this April. The platform offers 1,000 hours of library content, including movies and short films.
Cable operators too have joined the space of providing OTT content to consumers. For instance, Hathway has partnered with Netflix and offers free subscription to Play Box (OTT set top box) users. Users can avail 12 months’ subscription of Sun NXT.
According to Sukhpreet Singh, Corporate Head-Marketing, Dish TV, “The consumption behaviour of consumers is changing. Distributors believe their main job is to provide the best of content and entertainment to subscribers. We all want to consume online entertainment, whether it is from free or paid sources or from various apps.”
In partnership with Amazon Fire TV, Tata Sky aims to redefine the future of entertainment for millions of Indians by extending the ‘Tata Sky experience’ to the world of apps with Tata Sky Binge.
Pallavi Puri, Chief Commercial Officer, Tata Sky, says: “Through this partnership we are giving customers the Amazon Fire TV - Tata Sky edition without any additional cost to enjoy Tata Sky Binge.”
Bringing a variety of content on one platform, distributors are not only keeping up with the changing audience but also competition from telecom companies, which have started to become a major provider of content through data streams.
There has been an increase in the number of consumers watching video online, and the infrastructure too has evolved in terms of affordable Smart TVs bringing digital videos to people’s living rooms. This has led to DTH operators too trying to evolve to stay relevant in the future.
Girish Menon, Partner and Head, Media & Entertainment, KPMG in India, said: “Traditional television distribution in India is definitely likely to face headwinds from digital distributors such as telecom operators and ISPs.”
Currently, most DTH operators are tying up with OTT platforms and providing access to online content on Smart TVs through hardware enablers such as Set up Boxes or Smart Sticks. DTH players are also trying to tap the currently underserved wired broadband market and bundling both access and content in one package, helping them acquire new customers. “Access to online content as a strategic initiative will help control churn for DTH operators and act as an important customer retention tool,” Menon explained.
Post implementation of New Tariff Order (NTO), there was a disruption in the broadcast industry. “The disruption happened because of a change in pricing and packages. Life has been very tough for the consumer. The disruption has had some effect on the consumers and that is what has led to consumers to opt for OTT, especially when OTT provides linear channels at a much lower rate or no cost at all,” said industry expert Shaji Mathews, former CEO of Kerala MSO KCCL.
But are these profitable for distribution operators? “If you monetise well, it could be profitable,” says Mathews. “Regulation is also needed in such circumstances as you cannot continue giving free content,” he added.
Read more news about (internet advertising India, internet advertising, advertising India, digital advertising India, media advertising India)
For more updates, be socially connected with us onInstagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook Youtube & Whatsapp
NBSA reiterates guidelines for news channels on Ayodhya matter
The NBSA urged news channels to adhere to the Code of Ethics & Broadcasting Standards and exercise caution to ensure coverage of the matter is not sensational, inflammatory or provocative in nature
The News Broadcasting Standards Authority (NBSA) has issued a special advisory laying out strict guidelines for news channels to follow while reporting on the Ayodhya case matter. The Supreme Court is expected to pronounce its ruling on the matter today November 9th, 2019.
The NBSA urged news channels to strictly adhere to the Code of Ethics and Broadcasting Standards and exercise extra caution to ensure that broadcasting of the news is not sensational, inflammatory or provocative in nature.
According to the advisory, "No broadcast should be made in any speculative manner in respect of the present proceedings before the Hon'ble Supreme Court nor of the judgment before it is pronounced; and of its likely consequence thereafter which may be sensational, inflammatory or provocative".
It goes on to say "No footage of the demolition of the Babri Masjid is to be shown in any news item relating to the Ayodhya matter".
See below the full advisory issued by the NBSA
Read more news about (internet advertising India, internet advertising, advertising India, digital advertising India, media advertising India)
For more updates, be socially connected with us onInstagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook Youtube & Whatsapp