The Delhi High Court has impleaded the Union of India (UOI) through the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) as a party respondent in the ad cap case. The proceedings in the matters were conducted recently through video conferencing.

The petitioners - news, music, and regional broadcasters - had filed an application seeking impleadment of UoI through MIB as a party respondent. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) remains the respondent no. 1.

Having heard the learned counsel for both sides and looking to the facts and circumstances of the case, the division bench of Chief Justice Dhirubhai Naranbhai Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh allowed the application while concurring with the view that UoI is a necessary party. Accordingly, UoI has been impleaded as respondent no.

Content aggregator and distributor Shemaroo Entertainment has invested Rs. 45 crore on new initiatives including the two new TV channels, Shemaroo TV and Shemaroo MarathiBana, during the 9M FY21 period.

"The company has been in an investment mode in various initiatives which are now started contributing revenues. Hence it is important to note that the expenses made on these new initiatives net of revenue for the period under review. So for the Q3 FY21, it was Rs 16 crores and for the nine months ended December it was Rs 45 crores," Shemaroo Entertainment CEO Hiren Gada told analysts during the Q3 FY21 earnings conference call.

Mumbai: Sony Pictures Sports Network (SPSN) is all set to bring back LIVE thrilling action from the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 from February 17, 2021 as big names like Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Barcelona, PSG, Juventus and Liverpool will resume their quest for European glory.

The top 16 clubs will now yet again battle on the field as a part of home and away format, trying their best to keep the aggregate score in their favor. To the much delight of fans, the first UEFA Champions League match week of 2021 brings Cristiano Ronaldo and Erling Braut Haaland back into the fray as both look to reach the summit of the scoring chart. Jürgen Klopp’s struggling Liverpool take on Germany’s coaching wunderkind, RB Leipzig. However, the team to look out in this season will be the mighty Bayern Munich from Germany as they take on Lazio as the winners of the recently concluded FIFA Club World Cup 2021.

Zee Telugu gears up to treat its viewers with the emotion of love through the World Television Premiere of ‘Solo Brathuke So Better’ on 21st February at 5:30 PM only on Zee Telugu and Zee Telugu HD.

Virat (Sai Dharam Tej) is a hot-blooded young man who believes with all his heart and soul that relationships – be it with parents or a life partner – are nothing but a drain on energy and a clamp on freedom. He moves to Hyderabad from Vizag to get away from familial bonds and even goes as far as to disown friend when they choose to get hitched. Egging him on his maternal uncle (Rao Ramesh) who doesn’t value his marriage relationship until his wife dies. As Virat grows older understands the value of relationships, he meets Amrutha (Nabha Natesh), who might not fall for him easily.

Channels enjoying a free ride on DD Free Dish may soon be a thing of the past. Broadcaster bodies have long been complaining of some regional channels bypassing the auction process on DD Free Dish but still reaping the benefits of the platform in terms of reach by riding on technical slipups. Fortunately for broadcasters, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) has finally addressed the issue and assured them that the matter will be taken up immediately.

Earlier this month, Javadekar replied to a question in Loksabha by stating: “Reference was received from Prasar Bharati regarding the reception of some channels of the private broadcasters on the Set-Top Boxes of DD Free Dish subscribers, which were not part of channels downlinkable from that platform. The Ministry proposes to address this issue in the new uplinking and downlinking guidelines for private TV channels to be notified by the Government.”

While a lot has changed in the distribution business of the broadcasters, especially after the implementation of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s New Tariff Order (NTO) 2019, it has hardly impacted their revenue.

Although, post the implementation of NTO, overall time spent on TV reduced 6% (July-Dec 2018 vs 2019), and also the number of active pay television subscriptions fell, according to the FICCI FY2020 report, the subscription revenue grew 7.5% for the industry in the year 2019. Subscription income of major broadcasters jumps 35-40% in last three years.

 

In the past three years (FY18-FY20), as per the financial statements of these companies, all major broadcasters witnessed strong growth, especially in FY20, on the back of NTO implementation. For instance, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) posted a 25% increase in revenue to Rs 2887.3 crore for the year ended March 2020 (consolidated) against Rs 2310.5 crore in the previous year. The broadcast subscription revenue grew 42.32% in FY20 as compared to Rs 2028.7 in FY18. The company witnessed strong growth in FY20 and FY19 as compared to FY18 (Year ended on March 2018).

Chennai: 2021 gives a fresh start to all the players including the news channels in Tamilnadu. Sathiyam TV emerging as Covid warriors has brought in fresh air in rejuvenating the brand and gearing up for the TN election news bonanza.

Dr. Isaac Livingstone, the Managing Director of Sathiyam TV is overwhelmed with the response that the channel has received in escalating the TNPSC’s petition. The channel as a whistleblower unearthed the scam and the loopholes in the selection process of TNPSC Group 1 services exam. Dr.Isaac avers that Sathyam TV “will continue to stand with the common man and present the news without any sort of fabrication.”

NEW DELHI: China's broadcasting regulator has announced that it has pulled BBC World News off air, accusing the channel of flouting guidelines for reporting in the country. The action comes barely a week after Ofcom, the British media regulator, stated that it had revoked China Global Television Network’s (CGTN) license to broadcast in the United Kingdom. The decision was linked to CGTN's affiliation with China's communist party, which violates UK law on state-backed ownership.

In a statement released on Thursday, China's National Radio and Television Administration (NRTA) said BBC World News reports about China were found to "seriously violate" broadcast guidelines, including "the requirement that news should be truthful and fair" and not "harm China's national interests." The NRTA has also refused to accept BBC's new annual application for broadcast.

Viacom18’s Hindi GEC Colors’ new fiction offering ‘Bawara Dil’ is a hateful love story of Siddhi (played by Kinjal Dhamecha) and Shiva (played by Aditya Redij). It is an adaptation of Colors Marathi’s popular show 'Jeev Zala Yeda Pisa'.

While Shiva is a tough, angry young man, a powerful politician Akkabai’s (played by Sumukhi Pendse) pride and joy, Siddhi is an educated and intellectual young woman with a strong sense of morals. When Shiva and Siddhi cross paths, they start on a wrong note and create a bond fuelled by hatred. Produced by Happy High Creations, Bawara Dil powered by Rajdhani Besan, Nirma Advance Detergent and MDH Kesar will premiere on  February  22 and air Monday-Friday at 10:30 pm.

Senior journalist Deep Upadhyay is joining the leadership team of television news network TV9 Network as it makes an aggressive foray into the content convergence space.

Upadhyay joins TV9 Network from News24 where he has had a successful stint as Managing Editor for more than seven years. During his long career, he has worked with various prominent media houses such as India TV, Zee News and Dainik Bhaskar. One of his most challenging assignments was to set up the Newsroom of Ariana, the first news channel of Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban. 

Upadhyay was born and brought up in Nainital. He likes to read biographies, history and political economics. During his leisure, he loves to cook for his daughters.