India is emerging as a strong market for the over-the-top (OTT) service providers. Increased access to affordable internet, consumer preference for ‘Original’ content, and the ability to carry exciting entertainment in one’s pocket devices have given the perfect boost to this setup. While the consumers are happy about the service offerings, and the edgy content that is coming their way, social activists, government agencies, and moral vigilantes find this unsettling. 

MUMBAI: TV news broadcaster Associated Broadcasting Company Pvt Ltd (ABCPL) is all set to launch its Hindi news channel TV9 Bharatvarsh on 30th March.

The wait has ended. From 6 a.m. on March 30 @TV9Bharatvarsh will be amongst you to provide balanced and fair news. On March 31 morning, the channel will organise a National Conference in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, Akhilesh Yadav, Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley, Kapil Sibal will be present apart from other top leaders.

MUMBAI: The Delhi High Court has adjourned the Tata Sky vs TRAI matter to 4th April. Currently, Discovery Communications India, which is also a party to the case, is presenting its argument. The broadcaster will continue its on 4th April.

Apart from Tata Sky, the petitioners in the matter are Bharti Telemedia, Sun Direct, and Discovery Communications India. The interveners include Dish TV and All India Digital Cable Federation (AIDCF).

MUMBAI: Tamil news publisher The Daily Thanthi’s (TDT) investment in its Tamil news channel Thanthi TV has increased to Rs 230 crore for the fiscal ended March 2018.

The trust has invested about Rs. 220 crore in associate company Educational Trustee company Private Limited ltd (ETCPL) which runs a Tamil news channel Thanthi TV.

MUMBAI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has extended the implementation of landing page direction by two months following a request by the All India Digital Cable Federation (AIDCF). The deadline has now been pushed to 31st May from 31st March.

The authority had received representation from (AIDCF) requesting the extension of implementation for a further period of two months in view of the appeal against the direction pending before the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) and its hearing and/or pronouncement of order may go beyond the cut-off date of 31st March 2019.

MUMBAI: The opening weekend of the 12th season of VIVO IPL, broke all existing viewership records. 219* mn viewers (All India 2+ U+ R) tuned in on the opening weekend, which was 31per cent* higher than last year. Specifically, on the opening day, reach in HSM grew by 30 per cent* while in South reach grew by 20 per cent*, driven by a strong regionalisation strategy. Apart from the robust growth in reach, viewership (as measured by Impressions) also grew by a solid 29 per cent (Source: BARC Preview Report).

MUMBAI: For almost three decades, TV has remained the preferred choice for political parties to advertise during the poll seasons, given its mass outreach.

However, despite leading the charts in terms of ad insertions made on any traditional medium, TV has seen an indexed dip of 83 per cent in ad insertions made during the period of 1 January to 16 March 2019 as compared to the same period during 2014 polls.

MUMBAI: Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) chairman RS Sharma has said that by the end of the year, set top box interoperability’s is likely to become functional.

Speaking to news agency PTI, Sharma said, "Since last two years we have been trying to make STBs interoperable. Large part of problem has been resolved. There are some business challenges (which) remain... we are looking at this to happen by end of this year."

Media group Network18 has announced the appointment of Maruti Indoria as Business Head for CricketNext.

He will be based in Network18’s Mumbai office and report to Puneet Singhvi, Head, Digital, Network18.

In Week 10 of the RAM radio ratings, Fever FM continues to dominate in Mumbai and Delhi, while Radio City leads in Bangalore and Radio Mirchi hold the top spot in Kolkata.

In Mumbai, in a universe of 12.2 million listeners, Fever FM held an18 per cent share, followed by Radio City and Radio Mirchi. Early morning, followed by mid-morning and morning time bands observed the highest listenership on total radio.