Final Thesis After Viva (3) Sengupta

Advertising Revenue Models of Select News Channels
&
Their Influence on News Content in India: A Study
Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
By
Kakoli Sengupta
Enrolment Number: 90061131213
University School of Mass Communication

Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University
Delhi
(2022)
USMC, GGSIPU, Sector 16-C Dwarka, New Delhi-110078
CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that the work embodied in this thesis titled, “Advertising Revenue Models of
Select News Channels & Their Influence on News Content in India: A Study”, is original and
has been carried out by Ms. Kakoli Sengupta under the supervision of Prof. (Dr.) C.P. Singh.
The work has not been submitted, in part, or in full, for any other degree or diploma of this or
any other University.
Prof. (Dr.) C.P. Singh

Supervisor, USMC,
Sector 16-C, Dwarka, New Delhi
Ms. Kakoli Sengupta

Research Scholar, USMC,
Prof. (Dr.) Queeny Pradhan

Dean, USMC,
Statement of Declaration
This is to certify that the work embodied in this thesis titled, “Advertising Revenue Models of
Select News Channels & Their Influence on News Content in India: A Study,” is original and
free from any form of falsification, fabrication, and plagiarism. I shall be solely responsible
for any such dispute arising out of my doctoral work.
Kakoli Sengupta
Research Scholar, USMC,
Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University,
Dwarka, Delhi
Acknowledgment
First and foremost, I would like to express my gratitude to Prof. (Dr.) C.P. Singh, without
whom this study would not have been possible. I, especially want to thank him for having
faith in me and being my constant source of motivation, inspiration and, support. I have
benefitted immensely from his guidance and knowledge. He has stood by me like a rock and
no amount of words are enough to express my gratitude. I am grateful to Mr. AS. Raghunath
for helping me with his vast reservoir of experience and his kind suggestions. I am utterly
thankful to Dr. Maithili Ganjoo for her immense support and motivation. I also thank Dr.
Shilpi Jha, Ms. Prachi Dhiman, and Dr. Lopamudra Maitra Bajpai for offering their valuable
learnings.
I also take this opportunity to express my sheer indebtedness to my parents and their
affection. They have constantly motivated me to strive for higher goals in been life and given
wings to my dreams. I am thankful to my husband who has always encouraged me in this
endeavor, shouldering personal responsibilities, inspiring me to give my best. I am grateful
to Mr. Tapish Panwar for helping me with his research paper that offered great insights. I am
also thankful to all my friends and well-wishers who have always wanted the best for me.
Last but not least, I thank all the participants of this study for giving me their precious time.
Abstract
The News Channel industry in India is highly crowded with a high dependence on advertising
revenue. In India more than 70% of the broadcaster’s revenue comes from advertising. This
along with the crowded market space presents a number of challenges for the news channels
to survive and thrive. This exploratory study is an attempt to understand the news channel
business in the context of advertising revenue models and the factors that influence the
product of the news channel industry– news content. Through qualitative research
methodology, the study approaches the research objectives with the theoretical foundation of
the market model of media. With interviews of domain experts from marketing, news
content,and news business, the study is an attempt to understand various factors in the
advertising sphere that influence the news content of the news channels in India. The reliance
on advertising revenue influences the content of the news channels which gets shaped by the
parameters of the market. The findings suggest that both ratings and perception have a
bearing on the decision of advertisers. Some are ratings-driven, some perception driven and
some may look for the right balance. However, be it ratings or perception, it is the content
thatinfluences both. However, in the advertising-led economy, the content that pleases the
market parameters finds a preference in the newsroom. On the other hand, certain advertisers,
who are becoming particular about content and want to stay clear of channels associated with
negativity. The financial forces pose challenges for the news channels and the nature of news
constrains the creativity of the content creators. This coupled with social media space and
dependence on news wires has added to their woes. Content differentiation has become a
challenge in the newsrooms. Marketing domain experts and sales and revenue professionals
state that the advertisers have a preference for certain news anchors and the perception
created by the anchors influences the advertiser’s decision. Studies also suggest that
audiences too have a preference for some anchors. The study explores the scope of the
anchors to become differentiators in crowded space.
Keywords: Advertising Revenue| News Content| News Channels in India| Media Studies|
Television Studies| News Media |Media Economy
LIST OF PUBLICATIONS
Name of the paper Name of the journal

Emerging news consumption habits among Shodh Sanchar Bulletin
media audiences: an online study
Understanding news consumption habits of Shodh Sanchar Bulletin
women in India: a study
Mass Communicator
Use of security apps on Smartphones by
working women in Delhi
Cross-media ownership in The Discussant
India:Need for reasonable
restrictions
Table of Content
Chapter 1: Introduction
Introduction
Evolution of Television Media in India
Evolution of Advertising on Indian Television
Media Business in India
 Revenue Streams of Broadcasters

 Free to Air Channels versus Pay Channel
 News Channel Business in India
 Advertising Revenue and News Channels
 Preferred Time for Advertising in News Channels
 Types of Advertising on News Channels
 News Channels & Ratings
Theoretical Premise of Research
Research Objectives
References
Chapter 2 Literature Review
Review of Literature
 Evolution of Indian Media, News Culture and Indian Media Business

 Journalism & Mass Media Study & Practices in India & Abroad
 Journalists as Celebrities
 Media Market and Media Business: The Theoretical Premise
 Research Methodology
 Marketing, Branding & Advertising
Literature Gaps
References
Chapter 3: Research Methodology
Research Objectives
Research Questions
Research Methodology
References
Chapter 4: Findings & Analysis
Research Objectives
Research Questions
Pilot Study
Main Study- Part 1
1. Factors that lead an advertiser to advertise in News Channels

2. Perception, Content and Ratings of a Hindi News Channel
3. Is there any particular format of news shows that are preferred by advertisers in
Hindi News Channels?
4. Role of an Anchor in pulling an advertisement for a news bulletins/shows in Hindi
News Channels: Responses of Marketing Domain Experts
5. How are inventories of News Channels bought?
6. .Responses of journalists
● Factors that lead to selection of News Stories
● Practices followed to ensure high ratings of news content
● Role of anchors in News Content
● Editorial Content Vs Anchor
● Ways in which news anchors are promoted
● Ways to bring Content Differentiation
● Description of News Anchor Shows and Social Media Following of News
Anchors.
7. Responses of Sales & Revenue Professionals of News Channels
 Reasons for the advertiser to advertise on News Channels
 Role of anchor in news channel business
 Role of content in news channel business:
8. Ratings, Content and Perception: In Detail
9. Influence of Advertising Revenue on News Content
10. Social Media and News Content

11. Dearth of Differential Content
12. News Anchors & News Anchor Shows
13, Influence of Corona virus Pandemic on News Channels

14. Suspension of BARC Ratings
Main Study Part 2
FCT Vs NFCT
Factors that lead an advertiser choose NFCT advertising in Hindi News Channels
Case of dichotomy of content and sponsorship.
Influence of NFCT Advertising on News Content.
References
Chapter 5: Discussion, Limitations and Scope

Discussion
Limitations of the Study
Scope for Further Research
References
Annexure
List of Tables and Graphs
Table 4.1- - Marketing Domain Experts: Primary factors for advertising in News Channels
Table 4.2- Marketing Domain Experts: All factors for advertising in News Channels
Table 4.3- Marketing Domain Experts: Factors for advertising in Hindi News Channels
Table 4.4: Sales & Revenue Professionals: Factors for advertising in News Channels
Table 4.5: Ratings Vs Perception
Table 4.6: Role of Ratings
Table 4.7- Role of Content
Table 4.8- Ratings Vs Content
Table 4.9: Format of the shows
Table 4.10: Role of an Anchor
Table 4.11: Factors that lead to Selection of News
Graph 4.1: Factors that lead to Selection of News
Table 4.13: Practices followed to ensure high ratings
Graph 4.2: Practices followed to ensure high ratings
Table 4.14: Role of anchors in News Content
Graph 4.3: Role of anchors in News Content
Table 4.15: Promotion of News Anchors
Table 4.16: Ways to bring differentiation
Table: 4.17: Sales and Revenue Professionals: Factors that lead to selection of a news
channel
Table 4.18: Role of Anchor in News Channel Business
Table 4.19: Role of content in news channel business

List of Images
1. a: Ad Revenues by Segment
1. b: Genre wise Revenues 2019 and 2020
1.c : Media versus GDP 1
1.d : Media versus GDP 2
1.e : Genre wise Revenues Year 2016 and 2017
1.f : News Ad Volumes
1.g :: New Channel Share of Ad Volumes
1.h : Genre wise Ad Volumes
1.i : Time Band wise Advertising Share
1.j: Genre wise Share of Ad Volumes
1k: FCT Ad
1l : Laptop Branding
1m: Sponsorship of Feature Property
1n : L Band Sponsorship-1
1o: L Band Sponsorship -2
1p: Bulletin Property- Snippet News Sponsorship
1q :Weather Branding
1r : Headline Sponsorship
1s: Brand Bugs on ABP News
1t : Brand Bugs on News 18 India
1u: Sponsorship being presented and announced
1v: Advertorial on Aaj Tak
Image 4.1: Rupa Frontline Ad on Aaj Tak
Image 4.2: Lux Cozi Ad on India TV
Image 4.3 Swagat Proxim Ad on NDTV
Image 4.4: Wild Stone’s TVC Ad on Aaj Tak

Image 4.5 Raymond’s Advertising on TV 9 Bharatvarsh
Image 4.6 Image and Source: News Genre Viewership Image & Source FICCI, BARC, 2018
Image 4.7 Image and Source: FICCI, BARC (2018): Women Viewership of Big News Events
1
Image 4.7 Image and Source: FICCI, BARC (2018): Women Viewership of Big News Events
2
Image 4.8 Image and Source Salve, Andi (2020) : Percentage who are interested in news.
Image 4.9 Image and Source Salve, Andi (2020) : Percentage using TV news programmes
Image: 4.10: DNA, Zee News Promo
Image 4.11: DNA and Sudhir Chaudhary’s Images from the official Facebook page of Zee
News
Image 4.12) Official Twitter Handle of Sudhir Chaudhary
Image 4.13) Official FB Handle of Sudhir Chaudhary
Image 4.14: Zee News DNA Image
Image 4.15: Zee News DNA Graph.
Image 4.16: 6th April, 2021 DNA, Zee News Images
Image 4.18: 1st July, 2021 DNA, Zee News Images
Image 4.19: 2nd July, 2021 DNA, Zee News Images
Image 4.20: Aaj Ki Baat Image
Image 4.21:Aaj Ki Baat April 6 2021 Episode
Image 4.22: Aaj Ki Baat April 14, 2021 Episode
Image 4.23:July 20, 2021 Episode
Image 4.24:Aaj Ki Baat July 2, 2021 Episode
Image 4.25: Official Twitter Handle of Rajat Sharma
Image 4.26: Official Facebook Handle of Rajat Sharma
Image 4.27: Poochta Hai Bharat Image
Image 4.28: Episode thumbnails from Republicworld website

Image 4.29: Poochta Hai Bharat 6th April 2021 Episode
Image 4.30: Poochta Hai Bharat 14h April 2021 Episode
Image 4.30: Poochta Hai Bharat 14h April 2021 Episode
Image 4.31: Poochta Hai Bharat July 20, 2021 Episode
Image Episode 4.32: Poochta Hai Bharat July 2, 2021
Image 4.33: India Chahta Hai 6th April 20021 Episode
Image 4.34: India Chahta Hai 14th April, 2021 Episode
Image 4.34: India Chahta Hai July 2nd 2021 Episode
Image 4.35: July 30th 2021 2021 Episode
Image: 4.46:India Chahta Hai Sumit Awasti official Twitter Handle
Image 4.47: Sumit Awasti official Facebook Handle
Image 4.48:Desh Ki Behas Image
Image 4:49: Desh Ki Behas 6th April 2021 Episode
Image 4.50: Desh Ki Behas 14th April 2021 Episode
Image 4.55: 6th April Halla Bold Episode
Image 4.56: 14th April Halla Bold Episode
Image 4.57: 2nd July 2021 Halla Bol Episode
Image 4.58: 20th July 2021 Halla Bol Episode
Image 4.59: Verified Twitter Handle of Anjana Om Kashyap
Image 4.60: Verified Facebook Handle of Anjana Om Kashyap
Image 4.61: Anjana Om Kashap featured on Aaj Tak’s image, found on official FB handle of
AajTak
Image 4.62: Anjana Om Kashap featured on Aaj Tak’s image, found on official FB handle of
AajTak
Image 4.63: TAM: Ad Volumes per day of News Channel
Image 4.64: L Band Sponsorship on Republic Bharat
Image 4.65: L Band Sponsorship on TV 9
Image 4.66: L Band Sponsorship on Aaj Tak

Image 4.68: Branding in News Studio on Republic Bharat
Image 4.69: Text Headline Sponsorship on Aaj Tak
Image 4.70: Text Headlines Sponsorship on Aaj Tak
Image 4.71: Text Headlines Sponsorship on TV9
Image 4.71: Laptop Branding on India TV
Image 4.72: Weather Content Sponsorship on Aaj Tak
Image 4.73 : Brand Logo Bug on Aaj Tak,
Image 4.74 : Brand Logo Bug on NDTV India

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
Abstract of the Chapter: The introductory chapter introduces the research and its
significance. It outlines the challenges of the Indian news business and the role of advertising
revenue in its survival. The chapter also gives the background of the evolution of Television
media in India tracing back its emergence from a mere experiment to a vibrant industry
today. It specifically discusses the appearance of advertising on the Television medium and
then moves to the media business scenario, the revenue models, and the news channels’
relationship with advertising revenue. In the end the chapter talks about the research
objectives which the thesis sets to attain.
1) Introduction
Advertising is the oxygen of the Indian media industry and this is especially true for the
broadcasters as more than 70% of their revenue comes from advertising. However, despite
that, it is interesting to note that advertising spends in India are just 0.39% of the GDP. This
is in sharp contrast to Japan, China, and Malaysia where it is 0.88%, 0.7%, and 0.6%
respectively. (FICCI, EY, 2019)
The news channels form an intrinsic part of tndia’s media landscape. However, the market is
immensely crowded with a whopping number of 388 news channels jostling for a 10.4%
viewership share. The News channels just like other broadcasters are heavily dependent on
advertising, whether they are free to air or pay channels, as reported by the industry experts.
A highly crowded market driven by advertising revenue is likely to have an influence on the
news content. Looking from the market sphere, News content is an information product
influencedby the market dynamics (Hamilton, 2006). Though the share of news viewership
has increased by more than 3 % from the year 2018 to 2020, reaching at 10.4%, (FICCI, EY,
2021) the overcrowded news channel space, the reduction of overall advertising revenue of
the industry and slow economic growth, pose many challenges for the TV news industry.
This situation is further aggravated by the nature of news which is event based and from that
perspective, limits the opportunities of experimentation as compared to fiction content.
Additionally, the stalling of BARC ratings in October 2020 and the overall slow economic
growth have further added to the challenges of the Television channel sector.
The study aims at in-depth understanding of why the advertisers want to advertise in the news
channels and how the market dynamics are shaping the content of the news and its various
processes. It analyses the various factors of the relationship between content and advertising
revenue, bringing in the perspectives of various stakeholders through a qualitative approach
to research. Besides content, and its processes it also takes into account the news anchors and
their shows, exploring their potential role in the news content space.
1
2) Evolution of Television Media in India
Towards the late 50’s when the US was slowly moving towards colour television, India took
its first step towards hobnobbing with the Television medium, when the multinational firm
Philips (India) offered transmitters to the Indian government at low cost. The birth of
television was a mere experiment in India. But the mere experiment in 1959 has transformed
into a gigantic industry today worth INR 685 billion. (FICCI, EY, 2021).
The first Television broadcast was aired in September 1959 (Mehta, 2008). Initially the
programmes aired were of a few minutes in the week, watched in “tea clubs” on free
television sets that were provided by the UNESCO (Kumar,2021) 1965 onwards the
programmes pertaining to Information and Entertainment also started getting broadcasted,
this was in addition to the programmes of social education.
Nanda a viewer of early Indian television recollects, “Television existed in the school
libraries in the late sixties and early seventies and we had a chance of receiving lessons like
Grammar etc on them. In the locality the so called elites possessed television sets and the
entire colony assembled to view programmes that were either news, or cinema which was
again split into two days in a week. Community halls also had television sets. (N.Sengupta,
Personal Communication, March 10, 2016)
In 1976 Television and All India Radio were separated into different entities. Television
came under the entity of Doordarshan (DD). Not only television was recognized as a new
medium, but the most significant development was, advertisement, which was allowed on the
medium. Television that had earlier exclusively depended on TV licensing and budget
allocations was to now rely on the advertising revenue. Mehta (2008) says that “TV licensing
was abolished and advertising was to fill the budgetary shortfall, a decision that forced the
rapid commercialization of Doordarshan in the 1980s”. (Mehta, 2008)
The unification of the television service in India not just got the audiences but also the
advertisers glued. As Doordarshan began catering to the middle classes with its gradual shift
to programming like Hum Log, Buniyaad, Nukkad and Fauji, it also consolidated a huge
set of potential consumers and sponsors grabbed this opportunity . These programmes were
cushioned with advertisements. India’s first sponsored programme Show Theme (1983)
appeared, though there is a debate that between Hum Log and Show Theme, which was the
first sponsored programme on Doordarshan ( Khandekar, 2015)
Hum Log also was sponsored by Maggi Noodles. In the 1980s advertisements became its
“new cash cow” for Doordarshan (Mehta, 2008). Cable Television entered the Indian markets
in the early 80s. Asian games in 1982 and Los Angeles Olympics in 1984, both, likely
contributed to the growth of the medium (Khandekar, 2015). Another factor which propelled
the growth of cable television business was the Gulf war and its telecast by CNN. Further, the
tall buildings and hotels also pushed the cable television distribution, among other factors
(Kumar, 2021) The next step was the entry of private channels in India. Star TV entered India
in 1990s. It was initially an English language channel. This was soon followed by the launch
of privately owned channels in India -Zee TV (October 1992); A Hindi language television
channel and Asianet, the first indigenous channel, in the language Malyalam.
2
Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy brought to screens India’s first ever privately produced news
bulletin called News Tonight in the year 1995. However, since live news broadcast was
forbidden then, the producer; NDTV, would record the bulletin live and broadcast it 10
minutes after. Zee TV too telecasted its news bulletins near about the same period as the
aforementioned News Tonight aired on Doordarshan. Mehta notes a stark contrast in the
bulletins aired by Zee TV, wherein the medium used was a mix of Hindi and English-
Hinglish (Mehta, 2008). The massive response to the growing popularity of the satellite
channels led to DD coming up with DD3 which was envisaged as an “informed current
affairs channel” However the channel was shut down and several years later DD News was
launched, post the year 2000. In 1998 Indian audiences got India’s first private 24 hours
channel, Star News and by 2007 news became so big that more than 300 players had started
broadcasting news. The kitty included several 24-hour news channels and also regional
language channels. (Mehta, 2008)
3) Evolution of Advertising on Indian Television
Doordarshan started receiving huge advertising revenues with the success of numerous soaps
on the medium. Advertisers too welcomed it with open arms. During the period from 1997 to
1998, DD’s revenue rose to Rs. 4900 million. (Kumar, 2021). Advertising on Television
further boomed with Satellite television. From 16% of advertising spends of India in the
1990s, it rose to substantial 41% by the year 2004. (Mehta, 2008) Television has remained
the highest ad revenue earner for some time now. (FICCI, EY, 2020)
1.a) Source & Image: FICCI, EY (2021)
3
4) Media Business in India
The latest industry report show, pessimistic numbers on the growth of Media and
Entertainment Industry in India. From 1,822 billion in 2019 it has come down to INR 1383
billion (FICCI, EY, 2020). Many industry reports trace the influence of country’s slow
economic growth to the situation. (KPMG,2020; FICCI, EY, 2020).
1.b) Source & Image: FICCI, EY (2021)
For instance, FICCI & EY note that the M& E industry performed worse than Gthe DP of
the country in 2020. (FICCI, EY, 2021). The below graphs compare the scenario between
GDP and the media and entertainment sector of the year 2019 and 2020. While in 2019
Media andEntertainment Industry performed better than the GDP, in the year the opposite
happened.
The FICCI, EY (2021) report says, “While the M&E sector usually grows faster than GDP, it
also falls more than GDP de growth, given the discretionary nature of advertising”. The
advertising numbers show a fall of more than 25% and the Media and Entertainment fell
down by 24%, the numbers indicate. (FICCI, 2021)
4
1.c) Source & Image : FICCI, EY (2021)
5
1.d) Source & Image- FICCI, EY (2020)
Television has remained the largest segment for quite some years now. (FICCI EY-2018 to
2021). From INR 594 billion in 2016, it reached 787 billion in 2019 and finally falling to
INR 685 billion in 2020. The primary source of revenue for Television has been Subscription
and Advertising, with advertising revenue share being more than 70% for the broadcasters in
India. (FICCI, EY, 2018) Internationally advertising to pay is 55:45 as proportion. But in
India it is 80:20 (Khandekar, 2015). TRAI (2012) paper also talks about the disproportionate
share and notes that the television broadcasters’ dependence on advertising. At the retail level
where the subscription to advertising proportion is 66:34, for broadcasters it is nearly
opposite - 35:65 leaning in advertising revenue’s favour (TRAI, 2012)
6
1.e) Source & Image FICCI, EY (2018)
4.a) Revenue Streams of Broadcasters
There are primarily four revenue streams for the broadcasters
a) Advertising
b) Subscription
c) Revenues from Abroad Markets
d) Other Revenue Streams
Subscription Revenue: Subscription is the revenue generated from the subscription amount
paid by the audiences in an exchange of the content. It is just like any other goods and
services that producers sell in the market to generate revenue. Internationally, in the sphere
of television, advertising to pay as a proportion of revenue is around 55:45. In India, it is
80:20 (Khandekar, 2013), and as per the FICCI, EY (2018) advertising revenue share is to
thetune of more than 70% of broadcaster’s revenue. There are various distribution platforms
like Cable, DTH, HITS, and Free TV with Cable having the highest subscribers of 73 million
as reported by FICCI EY (2021) on the basis of Industry discussions, billing reports TRAI
data, and EY analysis
7
Advertisement Revenue: Advertisement revenue refers to the revenue that comes from the
airtime that’s sold to the advertisers. Audiences of the media are potential consumers of
advertisers. Hence advertisers use the media space to inform the audiences of the goods and
services by paying the media organizations to showcase their products and services to reach
their desired audience. According to FICCI EY Report 2020, (FICCI, EY, 2021) total
television ad revenue was INR 251 billion. In India broadcasters are advertisement revenue
dependent.
Revenues from Markets Abroad: Many broadcasters in India have branched out to the
international markets, where their channels are distributed and they get a chunk of the
subscription amount charged to the subscriber. (Khandekar,2015). Khandekar adds that this
also seems to be a lucrative proposition for the broadcasters as the markets are mostly
subscription-based and also the costs involved in producing the content is low as mostly the
same content created for the markets in India are repeated.
Other Revenue Streams: Besides the aforementioned, there are other revenue streams like
Branded Content associations, revenue from mobile and internet, etc that are also sources
ofrevenue for the broadcasters.
4.b) Free to Air Channels versus Pay Channel
Based on the advertising versus subscription, the channels can be Free to Air or Pay
Channels. While Free to Air Channels are almost entirely dependent on advertising revenue,
Pay channels can be partially dependent on advertising revenues. According to TRAI (2012)
advertising generates 71% of the share of revenue in the case of pay channels. TRAI (2012)
explains FTA and Pay channel in the following words
“FTA Channel: A channel for which no fees is to be paid to the broadcaster for its re‐
transmission through electromagnetic waves through cable or through space intended tobe
received by the general public either directly or indirectly.
Pay channel: A channel for which fees is to be paid to the broadcaster for its retransmission
through electromagnetic waves through cable or through space intended to be received by the
general public either directly or indirectly”.
4,c) News Channel Business in India
There are around 388 News Channels in India that command a total of 10.4% of viewership
share. (FICCI, 2021), which makes the market highly competitive. The market is undoubtedly
crowded and hugely dependent on advertising revenue. TRAI report’s (2010) representative
figures of the industry suggest the advertising revenue share to be 80%, 90%,80%, 85% of
English, Hindi, Business and Regional News Channels respectively. (TRAI, 2010) While
some news channels are free to air, where their reliance becomes almost entirely on
advertising revenue, some of them are pay channels, where most of them are partially
dependent on advertising revenue.
8
4.d) Advertising Revenue and News Channels
News genre saw a 23% rise in 2020 (till 19 th Dec) from 2016 in terms of ad volumes and
also stood at 31% of total ad volumes in the year 2020 (January to 19 th December) (TAM,
2021). The Hindi News Genre received a 6% share of ad volumes in the year 2020 as per
the data, next to Hindi movies and equal to Hindi GECs (Tam Ad Ex data as cited in FICCI
EY,2021)
1.f) Source & Image: TAM (2020)
9
1.g) Source & Image: TAM (2020)
1.h) Source & Image: FICCI, EY (2021)
10
4.e) Preferred Time for Advertising in News Channels
Primetime was the most preferred time of advertising in 2020 and Services as a sector
advertised the most in News Channels in terms of volumes according to the TAM data
(TAM, 2020)
1.i) Source & Image : TAM (2020)
1.j) Source: TAM (2020)
11
4.f) Types of Advertising on News Channels
Advertising in News Channels can be broadly divided into 3 kinds Free Commercial Time
Advertisement and Non-Free Commercial Time, Advertorials and
Segment/Headline/Programme Sponsorship
1) Free Commercial Time Advertising- comes during the commercial break and is
mostly television commercial which is generally audio visual in nature.
2) Non-Free Commercial Time Advertising – Non-Free Commercial Time is the

kindof advertising which are shown along with the news content and not during the
commercial break. They can be L Bands, Brand Bugs, etc.
3) Programme/ Segment/ Bulletin Properties ’/Feature Properties’ sponsorship-

These are sponsorships of segments or bulletin or feature properties like headlines,
weather reports, spoofs, snippet news, etc. Brands sponsoring these properties,
features,or segments are often announced with a voice-over. Instead of a single
segment, entire programs can also be sponsored by an advertiser.
4) Advertorial: Advertorials are also emerging as an important source of revenue for

thenews channels, where brands are advertising through news programs like the
content. However, most channels do mention that they are advertorials in some form
or other.
Free Commercial Time Advertising
1.k) FCT Advertisement on TV 9 Bharatvarsh
12
Laptop Branding
1.l) Laptop Branding on TV9 Bharatvarsh
Sponsorship of Feature Property
1.m) Sponsorship of Poli-toon Feature on India TV
13
L Band Sponsorship
1n) L Band Sponsorship on Aaj Tak
L Band Sponsorship
1o) L Band Sponsorship on Zee News
14
Bulletin Property- Text Headlines Sponsorship
1p) Sponsorship of Snippet News on Aaj Tak
Weather Branding
1q) Sponsorship of Weather Report Feature on Aaj Tak
15
Headline Sponsorship
1r) Sponsorship of Headlines on India TV
Brand Bugs
1s) Brand Bugs on ABP News
16
Brand Bugs
1t) Brand Bugs on News 18 India
Sponsorship being announced and presented
1u) Sponsorship being announced with a voice over on Zee News
17
Advertorial
1v) Advertorial on Aaj Tak
4.g) News Channels & Ratings
Mehta (2008), says, “There is no doubt that advertising is the fuel that drives the satellite
boom and India’s burgeoning news channels.” The advertising revenue model has made the
ratings an important parameter to judge the success or failure of news content. Television
Ratings and Rating agencies have been subjects of a great deal of controversy in India.
Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) was largely adopted by the industry as an
alternative rating agency to TAM Media Research Private Limited. Both these agencies have
received severe criticism including questions on their credibility. In October 2020, BARC
ratings for news channels were stalled amidst the controversy related to manipulation of
ratings that especially impacted English News Channels.
Initially, DART – Doordarshan Audience Ratings was the only Rating system for Television
followed in India. TAM Rating System had been existing since 1993. There were many
controversies that surrounded the TAM rating system, including that the measurement system
was ineffective, lacked credibility, included too few panel homes, the panel homes were
leaked, the mechanism excluded many geographies, and so on. TRAI sent its
recommendations in 2008 on the various issues related to the rating mechanism which noted
the prevailing “dissatisfaction” around the rating system. “The Authority has concluded that
for the present self-regulation may work best and a framework laying specific guidelines
including certain reporting requirements would effectively address the shortcomings” (TRAI,
2008)
18
In the year 2010, the government set up a committee headed by Dr. Amit Mitra to review the
measurement of TRPs in India, which submitted its recommendations to the Ministry of
Information and Broadcasting in the year 2011. The Committee was in the favor of TRPs
being self-regulated by the industry itself (“MIB's TRP Committee Report: 15
recommendations stated”, 2011). TRAI again submitted recommendations to the government
in the year 2013, supporting the “self-regulation of Television ratings through an industry-led
body like BARC”. (TRAI, 2020)
MIB finally accredited BARC in 2015 to take up Television Ratings in India. Broadcast
Audience Research Council popularly known as BARC is a joint industry body with various
stakeholders- Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF), the Indian Society of Advertisers
(ISA),and the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) It is the only provider of
the Television Rating Services commercially in India (TRAI, 2020). TRAI in 2020 noted
furtherthe views of the stakeholders including the dissatisfaction by a few and gave some
recommendations, including the need for structural reforms in the structure of Governance to
do way with the “risk of conflict of interest, improve credibility and bring transparency and
instill confidence of all the stakeholders in the TRP measurement system” (TRAI, 2020)
BARC which was widely adopted by the broadcaster has a panel size of 44,000 households
and plans to extend It to 50,000 in the year 2021 (BARC, 2020). It’s an irony that BARC too
got embroiled into severe controversy and the ratings of news channels were stalled in
October 2020.
5) Theoretical Premise of Research
a) Market Model of Media
The study is based on the foundation of the market model of media which treats media
content as a product and approaches the media as an industry. Croteau and Hoynes (2006)
describe the market model of media which suggests that the demand and supply dynamics
that form the basis of a “relatively unregulated process of exchange” can meet the needs of
the society. The market model considers the offerings of media as goods and services that
operate on the dynamics of demand and supply and can be assessed through the parameters of
profit and loss. Albarran (2013) in the context of electronic media calls television stations,
cable operators, etc. as sellers catering to consumers and advertisers. The market model
advocates the existence of highly competitive conditions where the businesses operating for
the motive of profit would meet the needs of the consumers.
b) Dual Product Market
According to Picard (1989, as cited in Albarran, 2013) the unique feature of media is its
ability to cater to two related markets- audience and advertisers. Albarran (2013), discusses
this aspect of media product too and explains its ability to offer its products in two markets-
19
to consumers and to the advertisers. This is referred to as the dual product market. The
scholars are of the view that first, the media creates the content ‘product’ to offer to the
audiences and then those audiences consuming that content product are further measured and
packaged just like any other good and sold to the advertisers. This is particularly applicable in
the case of advertising-supported media where first the product (content) is sold or distributed
to the audiences and then the audiences are sold to the advertisers. Thus, the audiences
become consumers in one market and product in the other.
c) Product dimension & Geographic dimension
The area of media economics defines the Media market as having two dimensions a) Product
Dimension b) Geographic Dimension. While the product refers to the content like motion
pictures, news bulletins, television soaps, etc. which can be offered to both advertisers and
consumers; Geography refers to the location where the products are offered like regional,
national or global. In the Indian context, there are for instance All India News Channels,
Regional News Channels and News Channels operating in overseas market. Media firms can
cater to both audiences and advertisers in these geographies. The media market involves
combining both product and geographic dimensions.
d) Repurposing of Media Product- Media products are not perishable goods. Once
created /they can be reused. Unlike many other goods that come with an expiry date, media
goods once created can be consumed again and again. For instance, a fiction series on an
online platform, say YouTube, can be watched by the consumer repeatedly. It can be further
shared by them through the share button with other subscribers. The consumption of the
media product (fiction series, in this case) doesn’t exhaust the good and it can be still be used
by others. This phenomenon is also true of the Television GEC channels that telecast the old
episodes of the TV Soap on their sister channels. However, one significant factor of
obstruction can be whether the consumer has paid for the content or not. However once paid,
he can use the content. But mere consumption of the content by one consumer doesn’t
exhaust the product and the other audiences can too watch/read or consume the same content.
e) Allocation of time and money: The allocation of time and money by the consumers
are the major decisions influencing the demand and supply of media goods. With a plethora
of media outlets and limited hours in a day, the decision on how much time and how much
money to allocate to the media activities become critical for the dynamics. In an ad-
supported media revenue model of television, the time spent by the audiences is measured in
terms of ratings and plays a major role in deciding the ad rates of the media goods. Similarly,
allocation of time to especially free media goods is often assumed to be made spontaneously,
while others like subscribing to OTT subscriptions like Netflix or Amazon Prime are
assumed to be done post a lot of deliberation.
f) News as a product: News boasts the characteristics of an information good, whose

characteristics are also described by economists as “public goods”, “experience good”,
possessing “multiple product dimensions”, “high fixed costs/low variable costs “etc.
(Hamilton, 2006) News is a public good as its consumption by one consumer doesn’t stop
others from consuming it. News is also an experience good as one must experience it to
20
assess its quality. The fixed costs and variable costs also influence news production. All these
factors contribute to the kinds of information that would be served in the market and how
they will be presented. Downs (1957 in Hamilton, 2006) mentions, Consumption,
Information,Entertainment, and Voting as the reasons why people have a demand for
information. While generally, the consumer would pay for the media for consumption, but in
cases where he doesn’t have to pay, the audience is likely to weigh in the opportunity cost of
consuming the content in lieu of time that could be used in doing another activity.
g) Journalists as a product: News and news products are information goods and, in this
dimension, journalists also become a part of the product or good. Hamilton (2006) says that
there an increasing pressure on journalists to become part of goods in the face of the number
of outlets that have been increasing. McLuhan in 1964 observed Medium is the message.
According to Hamilton (2006), it should also be seen that the “messenger has become a part
of the medium”. Owing to the uncertain nature of the news, the news organization may want
to bring some familiarity with the credible faces of journalists who also become a part of the
good in the process. They are paid to deliver not just news but alsothe audience.
h) Limitations of Space (Spatial Model): A 22-minute program or limited pages of a

newspaper are likely to impose the restrictions on the kind of news stories that are selected
for that limited space. According to Hamilton (2006), the considerations would include
costs ofputting together the content and its presentation, interests of the audience, the
actions of the competitors, and audiences’ expectations of the treatment of the news. In
advertising-supported media, the kind of audiences the advertiser is interested in also plays
a role in the selection of the news and time allocated to its coverage.
i) Product Differentiation: Product Differentiation is the identification of the brand and

customer loyalties possessed by the firm arising out of differences in the product offerings,
previous advertising, and customer service or by the virtue of being the first mover. Albarran
(2013) refers to it as “perceived differences among products.” Michael Porter (2004/1980)
outlines three strategies to acquire a competitive advantage in the market. a) Overall Cost
Leadership b) Differentiation c) Focus. By differentiation, he implies producing a product
that’s perceived to be unique in the market. According to him, achieving Differentiation is a
viable strategy as it succeeds in giving an edge against the competitive forces.
j) Ingredient Branding: Ingredient branding is a brand created for the ingredient or

components of a product. Kotler, et al (2009) say that ingredient branding is a case of co-
branding wherein the brand equity is built for things that are within other branded products.
Ingredient branding is a relatively recent branding strategy closely associated with Co-
Branding. Recent researches offer examples that display the potential of the strategy in
accomplishing successful brand management. According to Kotler and Pfortsch (2010) a
deep understanding of both B2C and B2Benvironments is essential to come up with an
Ingredient Branding Strategy. Studies have shown that ingredient branding leads to
associations that are favorable to the host brand (Vaidyanathan & Aggarwal, 2000; Keller &
Desai, 2002). Tiwari and Singh (2012) find that ingredient branding supports host brand
21
equity under factors like" co-branding, perceived quality attitudes towards the brands , Brand
esteem , memorability, Reduce Market outlay, reliable and likeability"
k) Brand Equity: Aaker recognizes the growing interest behind branding by firms and
managers alike to attain differentiation in the market. These firms want to go beyond price
competition. They also realize the need to optimally use their assets to maximize their
business performance. Aaker successfully defines and illustrates the concept of brand equity
to help the firm and its managers realize its value. He then also goes ahead to highlight and
explain how brand equity can be created and managed. Aaker while explaining the concept of
brand equity states 5 assets and liabilities on which the brand equity of a product is based a)
Brand Loyalty b) Name Awareness c) Perceived Quality d) Brand Associations e) Other
proprietary brand assets
6) Research Objectives
The present work has been undertaken with the following research objectives:-
1. To understand certain factors that lead an advertiser to choose News Channels in India
2. To understand certain factors that lead an advertiser to choose Non-Free
CommercialTime advertising in Hindi News Channels in India
3. To understand the influence of advertising revenue model on news content of Hindi
news channels in India
22
References
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Wadsworth, Cengage Learning
o Albarran, Alan B (2010) , The Media Economy, Routledge.
o BARC (2021) Description of Methodology :BARC India
https://barcindia.co.in/measurement/television-audience-measurement-
description-of-
methodology.pdf#:~:text=The%20BARC%20India%20panel%20is,households
%20from%20the%20target%20population.
o Croteau, David ,Hoynes William.(2006). The Business of Media: Corporate
Media and the Public Interest. Pine Forge Press
o Desai, Kalpesh Kaushik, Keller Kevin Lane (2002) The Effects of Ingredient
Branding Strategies on Host Brand Extendibility. Journal of Marketing , Jan.,
2002, Vol. 66, No. 1 (Jan., 2002), pp. 73-93 Published by: Sage Publications,
Inc. on behalf of American Marketing Association Stable URL:
https://www.jstor.org/stable/3203370
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recommendations stated https://www.exchange4media.com/media-tv-
news/mib's-trp-committee-report15-recommendations-stated-40622.html#
o FICCI, EY (2019). A Billion Screens of Opportunity: March 2019
http://www.ioaa.co.in/images/EY-a-billion-screens-of-opportunity.pdf
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https://ficci.in/spdocument/22949/FICCI-study1-frames-2018.pdf
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Transforms Information into News, Princeton University Press
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1films.in https://www.1films.in/2020/05/indian-hindi-news-channels-trp-
ratings-weekly-list.html
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Publications
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House
o Kotler, Philip; Keller, Kevin Lane; Koshy, Abraham; Jha, Mithleshwar (2009).
Marketing Management: A South Asian Perspective (13th ed.). Pearson
Prentice Hall
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Have Changed the Way We Think and Act. Harper Collins Publishers India
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Industries and Competitors. Free Press. Original work published in 1980.
23
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https://www.tamindia.com/tam-adex-mirroring-y-2020-for-advertising-in-
news-genre/
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Related to Advertisements in TV Channels
https://trai.gov.in/sites/default/files/cp-aproved-Authority.pdf
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Court of India n pursuance of its Orders dated 13th May, 2009 passed in Civil
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Implications of ingredient branding for national and private label brands.
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10.1108/10610420010344013.
24
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
Abstract of the Chapter

The entire literature review section is divided into 6 Parts with close to 50 texts reviewed,
including books, research papers, industry reports etc. The chapter then discusses the
literature gaps that highlight the need for this research Following are the sections into which
the literature review is divided.
a) Part 1: Evolution of Indian Media, News Culture and Indian Media Business
b) Part 2 Journalism & Mass Media Study & Practices in India & Abroad
c) Part 3: Journalists as Celebrities
d) Part 4: Media Market and Media Business: The Theoretical Premise
e) Part 5: Research Methodology
f) Part 6: Marketing, Branding & Advertising
Part 1 Evolution of Indian Media, News Culture and Indian Media Business:
Indian media has evolved over these many years. From the times of DD to the recent times of
OTT, the changes in the platforms and technology have also reflected the transformations in
the society and economy of the country. This section analyses the literature spread across
books, research articles, industry reports to bring a review of the insights gained from these
works and studies.
1) Mehta, Nalin (2008) India on television: How satellite channels have changed the way
we think and act Noida Harper Collins - Nalin Mehta presents Indian media through
historical , political and economic perspectives in this piece of work. The book analyses the
evolution of television industry from its inception till the 21 st century. The book provides a
well- researched background for the topic of the thesis and also a sound basis of
understandingof the industry dynamics today. It tracks the birth of news channels and the
forces which metamorphosed the society in ways more than one. The book compiles various
data sets which are useful to the thesis.
The Television News Channels industry is broken down into various chapters, beginning
from the Doordarshan years and the era when Television entered India. The historical
analysis from the Indian lenses is of high relevance to the thesis as it helps understanding not
only the transformation of technology on various platforms but also the change in the
attitudes and perception of the Indian audiences, government and the industry.
Abundant case studies and excerpts of the interviews give a firsthand insight to the
challenges, hindrances, and obstacles of the industry in the past. The topic of the thesis which
deals with the broadcast industry gained hugely from the book as the past is well chronicled
and archived in Mehta’s masterpiece.
25
2) Narayan, Sen. Sunetra (2014) Globalization & Television: A Study of the Indian
Experience, 1990-2010, New Delhi, Oxford University Press:
Narayan studies the Indian ‘media cape’ through the lenses of globalisation and localisation.
Analysing Indian media economy and politics through various theoretical perspectives, she
discusses several implications of her study, ranging from the emergence of ‘glocalisation’ to
the ushering in of a ‘consumerist era’ in the Indian media landscape. Narayan (2014) suggests
the “loss of control” by the state in the Indian broadcasting sphere has been relocated to the
global and local levels. However in spite of this state still retains control and has not
“withered away” and is active in regulation and policy making. Thus Narayan’s work not just
brings focus on Indian broadcasting scene but also that of the one in South Asia. She states
that ‘one-way flow of globalisation from developed to developing countries is not occurring
in the context of India, instead the phenomena of ‘glocalisation’ can be observed giving rise
to complex accommodations between global and local entities’.
3) Thussu, Daya, Kishan. (2007).The `Murdochization' of news? The case of Star TV in

India. Media, Culture & Society Volume: 29 issue: 4, page(s): 593-611. Issue published:
July 1, 2007 https://doi.org/10.1177/0163443707076191
Thussu discusses the role of Rupert Murdoch in the growth of the Television market in India.
He emphasizes on the market driven forces and localization of content behind the success of
Star Network in India. He then studies the case of Star News reflecting the trend of
infotainment in the realm of Television News. DK Thussu’s work is of special relevance in
the context of media in developing nations ridden with various socio economic issues.
4) Thussu, D. K. (2006). “Murdochisation” of the Media: An Asian Perspective. E-

Compós, 7. https://doi.org/10.30962/ec.105
Thussu primarily studies India and China as the prime focus of global media conglomerates.
Both these countries were likely to emerge as the world’s largest media market, which
explained the interest of multinational media giants like Murdoch’s News Corporation in
these nations. Especially focussing on Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation’s expansion and
consolidation in the media markets of these countries, Thussu, analyses its strategy of
localization of content. Examining the case of Star Plus and Star News, Thussu credits their
success to the Indian languages in which the programmes were made. Thussu discusses the
market led trend of entertainment and infotainment as “Murdochisation” of the media visible
in both Indian and Chinese media markets.
5) Bhushan, Sandeep (2019). The Indian Newsroom: Studios, Stars and the Unmaking of
Reporters. Chennai, Context:
Bhushan’s work takes one through the working of a news room, its process and practices.
Bhushan’s study is especially relevant to the recent times as it examines and brings a
perspective on the current developments in the Indian newsrooms. Bhushan brings an account
of various economic conditions and its influence on the news gathering and presentation.
Mostly focusing on the English Television News Bhushan discusses the complex process of
26
News Presentation, News Selection and News Gathering. Bhushan also elaborately discusses
the rise of anchors and their influence on news dissemination. Adding to this Bhushan also
explains the existence of “Access Journalism”, “Homogenisation of News”, and growing
phenomena of reporters being turned to just “props”. Bhushan’s critical analysis is of
tremendous relevance to the study as it presents a practical account of the process of news
operations, explaining inherent dynamics of the complicated Television News culture.
6) Munshi, Shoma (2012) Remote Control: Indian Television in the New Millennium New
Delhi, Penguin Group-
Shoma Munshi’s book is dedicated to the medium of Television and is highly relevant to the
topic which deals with broadcast. The book covers both news and fiction segments of the
medium. The three programming categories- soaps, reality shows and current affairs are
thoroughly analysed and helps developing a perspective. The news section is elaborately
chronicled and special focus is on history and its effect on content. The book helps in
evaluating the evolution of news content through years, especially in the genre of news. It is
one of the essential keys to the understanding of the subject specially the programming aspect
which has changed drastically over a couple of years.
7) Khandekar, Vanita Kohli (2015) The Indian Media business New Delhi Sage
Khandekar presents various aspects of Indian Media Business. The book is divided into 8
major chapters: Print, Television, Film, Music, Radio, Digital, Out of Home and Events, and
also a special chapter: The Future of Indian Media. The book exhaustively explains the
economy of various mediums, therefore it a great deal of fundamental information needed for
the proposed topic. It also throws light on the latest development including a number of data
sets and small case studies compiled separately. The chapter on Television is exhaustively
chronicled. The major issues are described systematically and in detail. The A, B, C of
television industry is explained thoroughly. Though the book doesn’t sufficiently offer a
perspective to the researcher but it gives the adequate fundamentals for the proposed thesis.
While the chapter on Television is elaborately researched, the other chapters on other
mediums too help the thesis. The economic overview of the other mediums helps in analysis
of the industry from a macro point of view and gives adequate understanding to most aspects
of Indian Media Business.
8) Mehta Nalin (2015) Behind A Billion Screens Noida, Harper Colllins Publishers-
Mehta gets to the roots of the Indian Television industry and explores all the dimensions
keenly. The book analyses Indian broadcast scenario in the light of the alternative
technologies and emerging platforms in the country. The impact on content, the business of
television, the surrounding regulations, issues of self -regulation and the future of the industry
- are the key themes explored by Mehta in his book. Mehta examines the various ownership
patterns, the crowded news space and the news content being shaped by the market. Besides
regulations and self regulation it also sees Television in the context of convergence with
mobile and internet shaping the existence of television. The book has a profound introduction
written by Star India CEO, Uday Shankar which proves to be highly insightful for the
27
relevant topic. The book helped the researcher to get an overview of the dynamics of
television news business and various factors influencing that business.
9) Bhushan, Sandeep. (2013) Manufacturing News. Economic and Political Weekly,

JUNE 8, 2013, Vol. 48, No. 23 (JUNE 8, 2013), pp. 12-15. URL:
http://www.jstor.com/stable/23527201
Bhushan in his work analyses the News room practices to argue that News is manufactured
in News studios. According to Bhushan in a promoter driven Indian Television Network, the
news definition has changed. He says while in the studio driven news set up there have been
cuts in the process of news gathering and reporters have received a set back and the focus is
on news presentation in a studio set up with discussions with outside experts. Bhushan says,
“The profound and disturbing intimacy between media promoters and corporations in
general and media networks and the political establishment in particular has come to acutely
characterize the state of TV reportage and electronic broadcasting in India, especially in the
post-2008 meltdown period”. (Bhushan, 2013 pp, 15) Bhushan again talks about the issues
of cost cutting and its influence on content, wherein journalists are sidelined and low -cost
studio driven shows with anchor at the centre are given prominence. Also, the increasing
dependence on news wires has led to “homogenisation” of news.
10) Batbyal,Somnath. (2012) Making News in India: Star News and Star Ananda, New
Delhi, Routledge. Batbayal presents an ethnography of Indian News rooms- Star News and
Star Ananda and analyses the news culture prevailing in the Indian Television News industry.
Batbyal answers the important questions of news culture and the everyday news room
practices. He writes, “There are few such studies in Indian media scholarship, and this work
claims to be the first, detailed ethnography of 24-hour television news in India. It attempts to
theorize the news production practices of a country whose global positioning has shifted
dramatically in recent years from that of a poverty-stricken nation of a billion people to a
newly emerging economic leader, confident and ready to fulfill its ‘tryst with destiny’
amongst nations” (Somnath, 2012, pp, 15) Batbayal argues that at a time when most scholars
raise concerns on the evolution of a private news channel culture lacking in social concern,
there is little study analyzing the process that led to the creation of such a scenario. This is
where Batbayal points out that the practices of such news production has slowly evolved and
have also been influenced by the broader atmosphere of the changing political economy of
the country. From outlining the history of Indian Television which saw a state led television
culture , followed by a massive shift ushered in by the private players, to the corporate
structures of news channels- Star News and Star Ananda, Batbayal presents an in depth work
of the Indian TV industry. Batbaayal not only studies the ratings influenced news culture but
also the audiences as “discursive formation” and its effect on the news content. The study
also minutely examines the processes of news agenda settings, process of news selection,
editorial practices and other day to day practices of news room.
28
11) Vasanti, P.N;& Kumar Prabhakar . (Eds.). (2016) TV News Channels in India.
New Delhi: Academic Foundation. Based on the rich foundation of CMS Media Lab’s
data of nearly 90.000 hours of primetime programming of prominent TV news channels,
the book brings together 11 authors discussing the pressing issues of Indian TV News
channels. While highlighting rich data, the book also brings to fore engrossing case
studies that form vital to the very foundation of the thesis. The book covers topics like
‘The Scene of News Channels in India’ by N Bhaskara Rao; ‘The Voice of the Global
South? TV News from India’ by Daya Kishan Thussu, ‘The Plight of Prime Time’, ‘News
Versus Talk, Has Talk Replaced Journalism, by Sonia Singh and so on.
12) Jha, Shilpi (2014) Multiple Revenue Streams and Challenges of Market
Differentiation for News Channels in India ( Doctoral dissertation) Retrieved from
Shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in, http://hdl.handle.net/10603/29334 _
Dr Shilpi Jha’s work is a landmark study in the field of news channel management in
India. Jha talks of the dual economic structure of the news channels in India based on
advertisement and subscription revenue streams. It is a detailed analysis on the challenges
of the industry and the factors responsible for those challenges. In her seminal work she
talks of the low quality content and lack of audience differentiation adding to the woes
of the cash strapped genre. Talking of alternate revenue sources, Jha explores and
analyses the other periphery and potential sources of income for the news channel genre
and also underlines the challenges associated with them. She especially talks of the
revenue sources like product placement, digital avenues like websites and you tube and
also briefly touch social media. Dr Jha’s work is a must read for the proposed thesis in
order to gain in depth understanding of the various issues pertaining to the problem of
revenue generation of the news channels.
13) Ministry of Information and broadcasting (2010, November) Review of Existing

Television Rating System in India, TRP committee report, 2010, November. Retrieved
fromhttp://www.ibfindia.com/sites/default/files/TRP_Report_25-11-2010.pdf-
Amit Mitra Committee report is the foundation of restructuring of the new Television
audience Measurement System in India. It not only outlines its recommendations but is a key
document to understanding the history, complications and significance of TV rating system in
India. Among others. It recommends a larger sample size, transparency of the rating system,
use of efficient technology, frequency of TRP announcement to be limited to once a week
and ensuring viewership across diverse platforms. The study also is a source of vital
information for the proposed thesis as it deals with an important aspect of the Television
industry- the metrics of advertisement revenue. Since broadcasting in India is an
advertisement dependent economy therefore the TRP metrics has been like oxygen for
survival for the television channels in India. Moreover the News Channel industry is among
the most cash strapped. So their dependence on the rating agencies becomes inevitable.
Therefore studying and reviewing the document is of high significance for the subject area.
29
14) Isar, R (2016). Shift Of Indian Media after Liberalisation from Public Good to Profit
Making Institution¬_ A Study Of Commercialisation and Public Perception Of Hindi
News Channels ( Doctoral Dissertation)) Indira Gandhi National Open University IGNOU
Retrieved from Shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in, Retrieved from
http://hdl.handle.net/10603/289812
Isar’s study on the Indian media landscape is indeed an insightful one, replete with gems of
information that is useful for any student and scholar of Indian Mass Media. The study not
just focuses on the audiences but also takes into consideration the views of the journalists
eliciting important findings in the process that open the scope of further study in media
scholarship. The study is specifically focussed on Hindi News Channels and also examines it
from the lenses of economic liberalisation. The study critically outlines the shift of the
television news channels from “Public Good” to “Profit Making Institution”, taking into
account various stakeholders.
15) Singh, Brajesh Kumar. (2011) Social and Economic Compulsions of Indian Television
News Content: An Analysis In A Historical Perspective (Doctoral Dissertation) Retrieved
from Shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in,
https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/handle/10603/226785
Kumar’s study is crucial to understanding the existence if any of the connection between
news content and the market dynamics. He studies selected news channels to arrive at key
findings. In his study Kumar covers three major pillars of the study- News journalists of
private television channels, the viewers of the television channels and as well as the news
content.
16) FICCI, EY Media & Entertainment Reports (2019, 2020 & 2021)
FICCI, EY. (2021, March).Playing by New Rules, India's Media & Entertainment Sector
Reboots in 2020, March, 2021 Retrieved from https://assets.ey.com › ey-com › en_in › topics
› 2021
FICCI, EY. (2020, March) The era of consumer A.R.T. Acquisition | Retention | Transaction,
India's Media & Entertainment sector, March, 2020 Retrieved from
http://ficci.in/spdocument/23200/FICCI-EY-Report-media-and-entertainment-2020.pdf
FICCI, EY. (2019, March).A billion screens of opportunity India's Media & Entertainment
Sector, March ,2019. Retrieved from http://www.ioaa.co.in/images/EY-a-billion-screens-of-
opportunity.pdf
FICCI, EY yearly reports are a storehouse of valuable information about Indian media and
entertainment industry. Academicians and industry experts rely on these reports alike to
source relevant data points for their academic and industry studies. The report not just brings
across precious statistics from various sectors of the industry but also brings forward many
interviews of industry veterans. The report is an important source to gauge valuable industry
30
trends of the M&E sector in India. The researcher has year on year gone through these reports
to stay up to date with the industry metrics and developments.
17) BARC, (2018). Breaking the News Story, Retrieved from

https://www.barcindia.co.in/resources#thinkwithbarc BARC, the industry body for
broadcasting in India not only is the body churning out measurement metrics for the industry
but also regularly researches and studies the industry trends and developments to give various
data points of relevance for both industry and academics. In this particular study the body
especially studies the news landscape of the event, viewership analysis of a scheduled event
and viewership analysis of unscheduled event rolling out a wealth of information for the
thesis. From the news audiences to content to the overall growth of the genre, BARC
newsletter is a source of meaningful insights.
18) BARC, (2016. June). A Day in the Life of an Indian Woman. Retrieved from
https://www.barcindia.co.in/resources#thinkwithbarc This particular BARC newsletter gives
insights into the Television Viewing Day of women in India. The newsletter delves into the
viewership patterns of both urban and rural Indian women offering an analysis in terms of
their content preferences as well as viewing hours preferences, and trends in Southern
markets as well. It also delves into what the female audiences prefer to watch on weekdays
and weekends. Overall, the data from the Newsletter has not just supplied the researcher with
the stats but also helped in developing a data driven perspective for the study.
19) BARC, (2017. June ). A Day in the Life of an Indian Male . Retrieved from
https://www.barcindia.co.in/resources#thinkwithbarc
BARC has also published a newsletter to bring forth a day in the life of Indian Male viewer
outlining their content preferences, viewing habits and preference of time slots for viewing
Television. Additionally the study also explores a second prime time slot to specially target
male audiences and also looks at post prime time slots from the lenses of male target
audiences. The newsletter in addition to bringing all India stats also separately quotes
numbers from the Urban, Rural and Mega cities in India, while distinguishing between
weekdays and weekends.
20) BARC, (2018 ). What Young India Watches. Retrieved from

https://www.barcindia.co.in/resources#thinkwithbarc
The young television viewers have been a subject of deep interest for both broadcasters and
advertisers. The BARC newsletter brings forth the content preferences, time slot preferences
and their TV consumption habits over weekends and weekdays. The newsletter also
separately analyses the habits of youth in Urban, Rural and Megacity geographies.
Additionally the newsletter also answers the question about “which advertising appeals to the
youth and what are the implications”.
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21) Devi, Sudeshna (2019) Making Sense of “Views” Culture in Television News Media
in India, Journalism Practice, 13:9, 1075-1090, DOI: 10.1080/17512786.2019.1635041
Devi analyses the market-driven news model influencing the news production of Television
news channels. She says,“ Looking specifically at the television news media space, the age-
old monopoly of the state broadcaster Doordarshan was challenged by the mushrooming of a
host of private television news media. Private participation in the television news sector was
in sync with the logic of market capitalism. Market-based news model radically altered the
nature of production, representation and consumption of news”. Devi points out the typical
programming in TV news channels where opinion and views are given prominence. With
their increasing dependence on advertising revenue, the business model of the news channels
favours content formats with minimum cost while being successful in also gathering ratings
at the same time. The opinion-based news shows, studio debates are examples of such
formats. This format, according to the study, has also given rise to polarising views which has
in turn shaped the identities for news channels. She writes, “In their greed for acquiring
higher ratings at the cost of airing polarizing views, news channels increasingly resemble as
propagandists of political parties. By framing biased narratives, many news channels are
indulging in promoting divisive discourses to suit their political masters. Moreover, the recent
trend, to debate and deliberate every issue, through the lens of hyper nationalism, seems to
override the formation of any informed and reasoned public discourse.” Devi’s work includes
valuable interviews of the industry experts who offer their perspectives on the content of
news channels and the economic compulsions behind a few of them.
22) Jaggi, Ruchi & Majumdar, Pallavi (2009). Popularity vs. Credibility: An Analysis of
Public Perception of Sensationalism in Indian Television News. IMS Manthan. Vol. 4,
Issue (December), ISSN 0974-7141 The authors say that the audience seem to be capable of
differentiating between sensational news content and the credible one. In their study they
pointed out the perspective of the television viewers from urban strata who felt that Hindi
News Channels “distorted facts to gain popularity”. The study states “A large majority of the
respondents felt that Hindi news channels were distorting facts to gain popularity. India TV
was rated the most sensational news channel by as many as 79 per cent respondents, while
CNN IBN and Times Now, both English news channels, were rated by 35 per cent
respondents each as the least sensational. While Aaj Tak, a Hindi news channel was
perceived to be tilting towards sensationalism, other Hindi news channels such as Star TV,
IBN 7 were perceived to be a balanced mix of sensational and credible content”. ’.
23) Krishnatray, Pradeep; Roy, Subhadip; Rahul Gadekar. (2010, March) Perceptual
Mapping of Hindi News Channels. Journal of Creative Communications, 5(1):47-62,
DOI:10.1177/097325861100500103. In the background of fierce competition where the
Hindi New Channels vie for audience attention, the study spans over two Indian towns of
Patna and Jaipur to present a perceptual mapping of 7 Hindi News Channels with respect to
10 editorial attributes to reveal several interesting facts. The study suggests that the viewer’s
tastes and “viewers’ tastes and preferences have to be examined more deeply than what
Television Rating Points (TRPs) indicate”
32
The study suggests the need to go beyond just ratings to find other details of audience
viewing like “why the audiences watch particular programmes on a certain channel”. In the
environment of deep clutter the authors suggest the need for such qualitative information to
form better judgements and make right decisions about news content.
Part 2 Journalism & Mass Media Study & Practices in India & Abroad
Both news and advertising are a form of mass communication. Therefore it is important to
understand the media, relevant theories and practices. This has been done both from the
perspectives of India and abroad.
1) Vivian, John (2013) The media of mass communication, Delhi PHI – It is important to
get a broad overview of the media industry and the latest developments in the field. Vivian’s
masterpiece is a handbook to the key insights of the industry. The book not only has a
dedicated chapter on media economics but also explains the key inventions and issues of the
sector. The book also covers various aspects of Mass Media including Broadcast, Print and
Advertisement and is fundamental to understanding of Mass Communication as a subject
and a profession. The book gives insights into both academic and industry realms. It also
helps in understanding the interrelationship of various sub sectors of mass media industry and
the influence they are exerting on each other.
2) Stanley, J Baran and Dennis K. Davis , (1994)Mass Communication Theory :

Foundations, Ferment and Future Second Edition Wadsworth Thompson - Baran and
Davis give a step by step account of the beginning and growth and development of Mass
Communication as a discipline and formulation of various theories. It views the discipline
from a historical perspective and gives an account of How, why and which theories were
coined over time. It covers topics like Theories of Mass Society and Mass culture;
Propaganda theories; Normative theories; Limited effects theories, Middle range theories and
theories of Media Culture and Society. The book helps in preparing a strong academic
foundation for the researcher and gives an insight to the theories, thoughts and experiments
which contributed to the building of Mass communication as a subject.
3) Saiganesh, S ( 2012) A study of audience behaviour towards television advertisement

(Doctoral dissertation) , Periyar University, Retrieved from
http://hdl.handle.net/10603/5710- The thesis, though is not directly related to the subject
but gives an insight to the audience behavior in relation to Television adverts. Some of its key
findings are valuable for the proposed thesis. It studies the impact of audience behavior
towards Television advertisement through a sample of 370 respondents drawn from
Dharmapuri and Krishnagri district . The study reveals some interesting findings. One of the
objectives of the study was to find extent and reasons for zapping the Television Sainath
highlights the tendency of the viewers to avoid advertisements on the idiot box as just 7% of
the respondents agreed to watching advertisements on Television Among other findings, the
study points out, 53.2% viewers in the survey, watched Television in mid evening around 8
pm. The thesis also points out the influencing factors of the Television adverts like
importance of technology, sentimental value , creativity, music effect, celebrity factor and
33
humour among others. The study reveals that the vulgarity associated with the adverts made
the audience uncomfortable.
4) Kamath, MV (2005) Professional Journalism New Delhi Vikash Publishing House

Pvt Ltd - The topic of the research demands an elaborate understanding of the profession
of journalism and in depth analysis of the concept of news. ‘Professional Journalism’
compiles the elements of journalism as a profession. In the process, he also explains the
subject of news and the prerequisites and essentials of the industry. Kamath in his work
elaborates the structure, style, working and responsibilities of a news organisation. The
author explains what it means to be a journalist and what are his/ her responsibilities
towards self, society and the firm. Kamath’s work envelops various subheads: Depth
Reporting, Crime Reporting, Headline Writing , Editor and his men etc.The book helps in
building an elementary understanding of the process of news and news industry. Therefore is
essentially linked to the topic of research .
5) J.Kumar, Keval ( 2021) Mass Communication in India Jaico impression - The book
serves as an elementary guide for the students of Mass Communication. However, its
significance cannot be ignored for a scholar. The book presents an umbrella view of Mass
Communication in India. Kumar explains the evolution and growth of various media
technologies in the country Kumar goes through the history and traces the evolution to the
present scenario giving insights to gaming industry and cyber wars. The content of the book
helps analyze the growth of media from a historical point of view. Therefore the book gives a
solid connect to the topic of the research.
6) Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (2013, February) Consultation Paper on Issues

relating Media Ownership Retrieved from
http://www.trai.gov.in/WriteReadData/ConsultationPaper/Document/CP_on_Cross_me
dia_%2015-02-2013.pdf- TRAI’s paper on media ownership deals with the issue of both
horizontal integration and vertical integration. It highlights the industry structure and the
significance on the restriction of cross media ownership and vertical integration in the Indian
media landscape. The malpractices of paid news, corporate and political lobbying, biased
analysis and forecasts and irresponsible reporting are pointed out as the likely aftermath of
unregulated ownership. The study is an interesting paper on the present restrictions and the
recommendations on various forms of ownership structures and restrictions in the country.
The paper helps in understanding the management and economics of the media.
7) Shoemaker, Pamela; Maeyfield, Kay, Elizabeth. (1987, June) Building a Theory of

News Content: A Synthesis of Current Approaches. Journalism Monographs.
Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication: The paper is an
attempt to integrate various theoretical approaches into a cohesive theory, especially gaining
from Altschull’s work. The authors suggest creation of an economical model arising out of
the approaches that explain media content as a result of the ideological forces of the funders
of mass media. With respect to the audiences the authors say their role and influence is
limited financially, that is while providing revenues directly or their role being instrumental
in driving advertising revenues for the media vehicle. Their approach also makes no direct
34
assumptions about the media content’s effect on the audiences. They say, “. It seems clear
that the nature and strength of effects of content will depend not only on content variables,
but on a host of situational and audience variables as well” (Shoemaker, Maeyfied, 1987)
Their theory suggests that the vested interest conflicting each other interact to give content
unique to every country and yet have similarity across others countries.
8) Nielsen, Rasmus Kleis; Sambrook Richard. (2016) What is Happening to Television

News: Digital News Project 2016.Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. University
of Oxford. Retrieved from https://www.digitalnewsreport.org/publications/2016/what-is-
happening-to-television-news/
The report analyses the trends of TV viewing in developed markets and elsewhere. It states
that in the technologically developed markets, traditional TV viewing is declining and online
video viewing is rising. However, TV would remain an important medium in years to come,
the report concedes. The report also highlights the need to address the decline in TV viewing.
It says, “The challenge needs to be recognised now and acted on if television news providers
want to reinvent themselves and find an audience that increasingly prefers digital media to
television, and increasingly embraces on-demand, distributed, and mobile video distributed
online” (Nielsen and Sambrook, 2016). Firstly, the report points out the changes in traditional
TV viewing in not just developed markets like the UK and US but also elsewhere. This is
followed by the rise of online video viewing trend and thirdly the study focuses on the new
forms of TV like news. Authors write, “Television news is changing as traditional formats
evolve, with evening news bulletins seeking ways to add value though much of their audience
already know the major headlines, and 24-hour news channels seeking ways of balancing
their desire to break news in an accelerated cycle with the challenge of getting complicated
stories right in real time. But television news is also changing in a wider sense as people
increasingly move away from these traditional formats and incorporate new kinds of online
video news in their media repertoires”. (Nielsen and Sambrook, 2016)
9) Hamilton, James,T. (2006) All the News That’s Fit To Sell: How the Market Transforms
Information into News, New Jersey, Princeton, Princeton University Press: The book
analyses the economic theory of news, examining the market forces affecting news content.
The book deeply studies the economics of news and how various economic factors shape
news. The author also analyses the trend of celebrity journalism and its influence on the news
content. Hamilton discusses News as information good and also the economics behind the
selection and production of a particular piece of News and the implications of the same. He
also discusses the market factors behind projecting the journalists as stars by the media
outlets, so as to assure the audiences of some expectations of how the news will be presented,
even though what news will be presented remains uncertain. This is because the stories may
keep changing in the sphere of news. However, the faces and the names of the journalists
remain constant. This also helps the brand to create differentiation in the market. However,
he points out that journalists as a result are becoming a part of News goods.
35
10) Allan, Stuart (2004) News Culture. (Second Edition) McGraw-Hill Education. Allan
suggests the dichotomy of media and society and suggests that such dichotomy can pose
limits on the questions that can be asked about the news media in society and this dichotomy
should be done away with. He also outlines three inquiry modes into news as a research
subject “News as an object of policy formation, News as an object of commoditisation, News
as an object of public opinion” The nine chapters dedicated in the book range from the times
of objective reporting to early radio days and days of televisual news when various news
formats and reporting practices were shaped. It delves into the role of news media in
structuring public debate and the audiences’ interpretation of news texts. The book also
examines the online media and the “digital divide”. The last chapter the author presents the
case of re thinking journalism and many strategies of change are explored.
11) Stevenson, Nick (2002). Understanding Media Cultures. Second Edition. New Delhi.
Sage Publications. Stevenson in his book brings together social theories and media on one
platform to highlight the relevance of mass media in the society. The book critically analyses
the social theories of mass communication and covers the perspectives of feminism, audience
research and culture studies about mass media.
Part 3: Journalists as Celebrities and Influencers:
The section examines the literature especially related to journalists both in Indian and
international sphere. However, it cannot be overlooked that certain studies mentioned
above also deal with the topic in detail.
1) Klaß, Nina; Mathias Wellbrock Christian (2019) When journalists become stars:
drivers of human brand images and their influence on consumer intentions, Journal of
Media Economics, 32:1-2, 35-55, DOI: 10.1080/08997764.2021.1889814 : Analyzing the
role of journalists as visible faces, the authors outline their value to both the audiences and
the firms. They develop and empirically validate “a comprehensive measurement model for
human brand images in the news media industry by focusing on the drivers that affect brand
image and their influence on consumer intentions.”. The study offers the guidance to the
news media in the realm of human brand management that could support successful business
models. They also highlight that “strategic management of journalists’ brands bears the
potential to benefit economic and journalistic performance in the audience market.” (Klaß &
Wellbrock, 2019). The authors say that thanks to the digital media the journalists can engage
in human branding.
2) Tapish, Panwar; Kalim, Khan. (2019). Ingredient Branding as a Branding Strategy

for News Channels in India.. International Journal of Business Insights &
Transformation, Apr-Sep2019, Vol. 12 Issue 2, p8-15. 8p: [ABSTRACT] IJBIT/ISSN
0974-5874/V12/02/249/RP8 *
This is an important study with respect to the News anchors in India. The authors apply the
theory of ingredient branding to showcase the scope of anchors as creating differentiation in
the face of competition. The news anchors are examined from the perspective of ingredients
to host brand which are the news channels. The work investigates the role of news anchors in
36
influencing the preferences of news channels by audiences. The research methodology is
based on the responses from a specific TG and analyses of the data using statistical methods
like ANNOVA, cross tab, rank test etc. The research also involves an extensive literature
review. The work also cautions about the downside of ingredient branding and talks of using
it with caution.*
3) Rosen Sherwin (1983). The Economics of Superstars. The American Scholar , Autumn
1983, Vol. 52, No. 4 (Autumn 1983), pp. 449-460 Published by: The Phi Beta Kappa
Society Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/41210977
Sherwin discusses the phenomenon of superstars in the economic realm. He writes that
certain economic conditions facilitate the emergence of the phenomenon of superstars where
few individuals earn big amounts of remunerations. He also highlights the relevance of
technology and media attention for the existence of the phenomenon. He says technology
should allow duplication of the services of the superstar to many buyers at the same time. The
author outlines the role of media that facilitate the rise of the superstars. The superstars
command a huge audience base. This is made possible with the technology that allows the
superstars to “clone” themselves at lesser costs.
Part 4: Media Market and Media Business: Concepts
The study is based on the edifice of media economics and media business. So the necessary
concepts related to the branch were studied and reviewed to get relevant insights.
1) Albarran, Alan B (2010) The Media Economy New York Routledge - Albarran’s
‘Media Economy’ presents a detailed analysis of the media industry. The book explores the
various market dynamics and the theoretical approaches of the Media economics. In separate
chapters the author covers theories, approaches, key concepts, technology, multi-platform
media enterprises, globalization effects along with regulatory , financial , social aspects of
the industry. The book again serves as an essential reading for the thesis. Since the subject
deals with the topic of Media economics, the book helps in understanding of the complex
aspects of this unique industry and the interplay of various factors shaping the policies and
various operations. .
2) Napoli, Philip M (2011) Audience Evolution: New Technologies and The

Transformation of Media Audiences. New York Columbia University Press – Napoli’s
work is a landmark study in audience economics. The book studies the interrelationship
between audience and industry. With the evolving technology the author explains the
changing dynamics between technology, media and the audience. The traditional
understanding of audiences is being displaced by the emergence of new platforms. The book
helps in decoding audience connections. The book gives a plethora of information for the
proposed thesis topic. It explores the industry’s perspective of the audiences. Audiences are a
major component of the media industry, therefore the study of audiences is key to
understanding the revenue models. According to Napoli, audience economy is impacted by
the media industry, advertiser and the audience measurement system. All these three elements
37
are vital elements of the research. Therefore, the 1 book is a significant secondary
source,giving insights to the audience dynamics.
3) Albarran Alan B (2013), Management of Electronic and Digital Media, United

States, Wadsworth, Cengage Learning – Management of dynamic industry of Media is
challenging. Various complex structures influence the working of the media industry.
Albarran not only introduces the readers to the various media segments of the industry but
also takes into account the contemporary variables influencing the management and business
of the industry. The book though specifically talks about the US dimension but, nevertheless
also brings into focus the global trends. This secondary source is important to the
understanding of the subject area of research. The book also has a dedicated chapter on
News and news management, which is key to the understanding of the news media.
4) Croteau; David; Hoynes, William. (2005). The Business of Media: Corporate Media
and the Public Interest 2nd edition. USA. Pine Forge Press: Business of Media gives an
overview of the Media Industry with its critical and in-depth analysis. The book highlights
two spheres- the market model and the public sphere model. It also brings several case
studies, like that of ABC and Disney and various strategies of the News Media Giants. The
book deeply examines how the structural changes of the media organisations have an
influence on the media strategies. The objectives of profit making, cost cutting and other
market dynamics have an influence on the differentiation of media product and describes the
issues of “Homogenisation and Imitation.”
Part 5: Research Methodology
The research methodology literature was imperative to understand the various principles of
research and ethics. The following literature was studied and insights were gained.
1) Kumar, Ranjit (2011) Research Methodology: A step by step guide beginners Delhi
Sage Publications India - To step into the territory of Research, it is imperative to know
the basics of research and methodology. Ranjit Kumar’s book serves as an excellent guide to
the journey. It covers various topics relevant to the research genre transcending limitations of
one particular discipline. It teaches A B C of research and explains the basics of the field.
The book is helpful at the initiation level and gives a clear understanding of the basics of the
field. The book is divided into eight parts excluding an introductory unit on the broad
understanding of ‘Research’. The book starts with an overview and moves to units – a)
Formulating a research problem, b) Conceptualizing a research design, c) Constructing an
instrument for data design, d) selecting a sample, e) writing a research proposal, ) f)
collecting data, g) processing and displaying data and h) writing a research report Therefore
all the steps of the research are succinctly compiled. The book helps in preparing a structured
blue print for the researcher which could be useful in not only drafting the proposal but also
in planning and execution of the thesis.
1
*Researcher is grateful to the author, T.Panwar for providing the research paper which offered great insights.
The researcher has gone through the paper and has found it helpful for this study. The paper and abstract both
are available on EBSCO host. .
38
2) Berger, Arthur Asa Media Research Techniques Sage Publications - Berger ‘s Media
Research Techniques is a key source to understanding Mass Communication research. It
focuses on various research techniques and methods fundamental to the discipline. While
Ranjit Kumar’s ‘Research Methodology: A step by step guide for beginners’, gives a general
framework, Berger’s work pertains particularly to the field of Mass Communications. Berger
explains research techniques through various examples drawn from the vast field of mass
communication. It covers complex topics like Content Analysis, Surveys, Depth Interviews,
library research, Comparative analysis and Writing with style. The book helps in drawing a
blueprint of the research design and also helps in designing a research methodology by
choosing the techniques suitable for the thesis. The book is ideal for the beginners and
scholars alike.
3) Wimmer, D, Roger ;Dominick, R, Joseph. (2014). Mass Media Research:An

Introduction. 10 Edition.Delhi CENGAGE Learning India Private Limited: Wimmer and
Dominick’s book on Mass Media Research is an essential work for every Mass Media
Researcher. From addressing the general queries on research to explaining the research
applications in specific spheres like Newspapers, Electronic Media, Advertising and Public
Relations, the book is a comprehensive text on the research methodology methods and
approaches of Mass Media Research. The book is divided into four parts delving deep into
the Research process, research approaches, data analysis and research applications. From the
basic elements of research, to research ethics, to qualitative research methods to experimental
research, to hypothesis testing to basic statistical procedures, to Newspaper and magazine
research to the one in the field of Electronic media, Advertising and Public Relations, the
book is a must for every Mass media research student.
Part 6: Marketing, Branding & Advertising
Advertising and marketing cannot be seen in isolation. Thus, it became necessary for the
researcher to study the literature from the field of Marketing, branding and advertising.
1) Kotler, Philip; Keller, Lane, Kevin;Koshy Abraham, Jha Mithleshwar (2009).

Marketing Management: A South Asian Perspective, 13th Edition. Delhi, Pearson
Education: The book is a landmark work on the marketing theory and practices.
Highlighting case studies especially relevant from the South Asian Perspective, the book is a
comprehensive text essential for every marketing student and practitioner alike. From
discussing the core marketing concepts to marketing research practices, from understanding
the concepts related to Customers, brand positioning to discussing brand equity, the book
takes the students of marketing step by step and gives a complete understanding of the
subject. Spanning across 8 parts and 22 chapters, the book, from the beginning to end the
book is a compelling read for every student, scholar and practitioner.
2) Menon, Arpita (2014) Media Planning and Buying: Principles and Practice in the
Indian Context. New Delhi: Mc Graw Hill Education – The book is a key source to the
principles of media planning and buying. It explains the basic metrics of the business. The
roles, structures, strategy and implementation principles are adequately compiled to give a
basic understanding of the subject. The book is highly relevant to the topic of the research.
39
Since the thesis proposes to study the influence of advertisement, the principles of media
buying and planning are of importance. The book gives an insight to why the medium of
television is important in the sphere of media planning and buying and also the metrics which
are employed to advertise a product on a particular platform The formulae of the various
parameters are featured in great detail in the book. This gives a clear and succinct
understanding of the key concepts and a broad understanding of the branch of advertising.
3) Belch, E George; Belch, A,Belch; Purani Keyoor (2013). Advertising and Promotion:
An Integrated Marketing Communications Perspective, Ninth Edition. New Delhi,
McGraw Hill Education (India) Private Limited. The authors provide perspectives on
Advertising and Promotion from the Integrated Marketing Communication approach. In the
era of constant evolution, the book highlights marketing and advertising approaches that are
holistic in nature. The first chapter introduces one to Integrated Marketing Communications,
and goes ahead to explain the topics like media planning, creative strategy, the
communication process, the budgeting process and so on. The book is relevant to the recent
times when the marketing sphere is evolving owing to many technological, social and
economic shifts.
4) Scissors, Jack, Z; Baron, B, Roger (2010). Advertising Media Planning, (Seventh

Edition) Chennai, McGrawHill Education - Scissors and Baron examine the discipline of
Media Planning and take into account not just traditional media but also new media.. Taking
into account the relevant case histories, the book is a comprehensive study of the subject of
media planning, highly useful for the students of media planning. The book is divided into 14
chapters, spanning across the introduction to media planning to Basic Measurements and
Calculations, to advanced ones, to allocating budgets and media testing, the book covers all
topics of media planning in detail. From examining the objectives to the selection of the
media vehicles to setting and allocating budget, the text is not just a practical guide but also
gives a profound understanding of the discipline of media planning.
5) Aaker, David A. (1991), Managing Brand Equity: Capitalising on the Value of a Brand
Name. USA: The Free Press: Through various case studies and examples, David Aaker
explains his work on Brand Equity. Aaker recognises the growing interest behind branding by
firms and managers alike to attain differentiation in the market. These firms want to go
beyond price competition. They also realise the need to optimally use their assets to
maximise their business performance. Aaker successfully defines and illustrates the concept
of brand equity to help the firms and its managers realise the value of brand equity. He then
also goes ahead to highlight and explain how brand equity can be created and managed.
Aaker while explaining the concept of brand equity states 5 assets and liabilities on which the
brand equity of a product is based a) Brand Loyalty b) Name Awareness c) Perceived Quality
d) Brand Associations e) Other proprietary brand assets
6) Porter, Michael E (2004). Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analysing Industries

and Competitors. New York: Free Press: Porter’s landmark work helps the firms analyse
its markets, position and form competitive strategies. While part one presents the framework
40
to analyse competition, part 2 offers the ways to develop competitive strategies in an industry
environment. Part 3 helps the firm to examine the strategic decisions in the face of
competition in the industry. The book is based out of the author’s research in industrial
economics and business strategy as well as his teaching experience at Harvard Business
School. The book, while being helpful for practitioners, is equally of great value to the
scholars.
7) Erdem ,Tülin;Swait,Joffre (2004, July). Brand Credibility, Brand Consideration, and

Choice. Journal of Consumer Research , Vol. 31, No. 1 (June 2004), pp. 191-198. Oxford
University Press Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/383434: The authors
examine the role of credibility of a brand on the brand choice by consumers. The study tests
consumer behaviour across many products. These products varied in terms of “potential
uncertainty about attributes and associated information acquisition costs and perceived risks
of consumption”. The authors include Trustworthiness and Expertise as important
components of Brand Credibility. The study suggests that brand credibility “increases
probability of inclusion of a brand in the consideration set, as well as brand choice
conditional on consideration” The study also indicates “trustworthiness, rather than expertise,
affects consumer choices and brand consideration more”.
8) Keller, Kevin, Lane (1993). Conceptualizing, Measuring, and Managing Customer-

Based Brand Equity. Journal of Marketing , Jan., 1993, Vol. 57, No. 1 (Jan., 1993), pp.
1-22. Sage Publications, Inc. on behalf of American Marketing Association
http://www.jstor.com/stable/1252054
This is one of the most notable works of Keller where he explains the concept of Customer-
Based Brand Equity, which is referred to by the scholars, students and practitioners alike. The
work defines customer-based brand equity “as the differential effect of brand knowledge on
consumer response to the marketing of the brand”.
Brand knowledge is closely associated with the concept of customer based brand equity. The
brand knowledge in turn comprises two components- brand awareness and brand image.
Customer based brand equity requires the customer to hold in his mind, ‘favourable, strong
and unique brand associations’. The author also discusses the issues of not just building but
also measuring and managing the concept of customer based brand equity.
9) Chamberlin, Edward H. (1951, November) Monopolistic Competition Revisited.

Economica , Nov., 1951, New Series, Vol. 18, No. 72 (Nov., 1951), pp. 343-362, Wiley on
behalf of The London School of Economics and Political Science and The Suntory and
Toyota International Centres for Economics and Related Disciplines Stable URL:
Chamberlin revisits his classic and points out the differences between the two, He highlights
that in the 1933 version the monopoly and competition were seen in respect to the numbers
and product differentiation, and it was proposed to study each of them separately and then
combining them. However oligopoly was studied without the product differentiation then.
Under the assumption of demand and cost conditions’ uniformity for all firms of the group,
41
came product differentiation without oligopoly. He writes, “In the present formulation the
importance of oligopolistic relations in the whole system emerges with greater force, as does
that of the full cost principle and other departures from profit maximisation, and the relation
of the theory to problems of development and growth. I believe that this is only one of
numerous ways in which the subject may be presented, but I hope it is one in which the
theory emerges more clearly as a general one, designed to replace that of pure competition as
a basis for analysing the whole economy”.
10) Dickson, Peter R; Ginter, James L. (1987) Market Segmentation, Product

Differentiation, and Marketing Strategy. Journal of Marketing , Apr., 1987, Vol. 51, No.
2 (Apr., 1987), pp. 1-10. Sage Publications, Inc. on behalf of American Marketing
Association URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/125112:
Dickson and Ginter explain different historical definitions of Product Differentiation as a

concept, examining the definitions of many scholars and thinkers from Samuelson, Smith to
Porter. The authors point out several confusions owing to the definitions of the same and
define and contrast market segmentation, product differentiation, and demand function
modification in theoretical and practical spheres. They not only present the different theories
of two concepts- market segmentation and product differentiation but also use preference
mapping to display the differences and relation between product differentiation and demand
modification. They state, “A product differentiation strategy can be pursued with or without
a market segmentation strategy, but a market segmentation strategy can be pursued only
when product differentiation already exists or when accompanied by a complementary
product differentiation strategy”.
11) Kotler, P; Pfortsch, WA (2010). Basics of Ingredient Branding.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/251150141_Basics_of_Ingredient_Branding
The authors delve into the basics of Ingredient branding. They highlight the benefits of
Ingredient branding in the B2B and B2C scenarios. They discuss the concept of Inverse
ingredient branding. They talk about the 4 Stage model of ingredient branding wherein the
ingredient brand is likely to supersede the host brand in terms of brand value. Hence they call
out the need of monitoring ingredient branding. The study keeps Co-branding and ingredient
branding separate but considers in-brand as a way of co-branding.
12) Desai, Kalpesh Kaushik; Keller Kevin Lane (2002). The Effects of Ingredient
Branding Strategies on Host Brand Extendibility. Journal of Marketing , Sage
Publications, Inc. on behalf of American Marketing Association, Vol. 66, No. 1 (Jan.,
2002), pp. 73-93. Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/3203370:
The authors examine the ingredient branding strategies through experiments. They take cases
of brand expansions- the first where an existing attribute of the product is changed and in the
second an altogether a new branding attribute is introduced. They examine the two types of
strategies of ingredient branding, first in which they brand the targeted attribute with a new
brand name and second in which they use a self- branded attribute. The results suggested
that the co-branded ingredient was found favourable for expansion in the initial stages but the
self
42
branded ingredient was favourable for extension of the category in the next stages. This was
in case of an existing attribute of the product is changed. In the other case, wherein an
altogether a new branding attribute is introduced, co-branded ingredient was favoured in both
the cases.
13) Vaidyanathan, Rajiv & Aggarwal, Praveen. (2000). Strategic brand alliances:
Implications of ingredient branding for national and private label brands. Journal of
Product & Brand Management. 9. 214-228. 10.1108/10610420010344013.
The experiment involving national brand and private brand studies the ingredient brand
closely. The question that was examined was if the national brand ingredient use in a private
brand has benefits on a private brand. The study suggests that in the association, the private
brand was benefitted and on the other hand the study suggested little risks for the national
brand. However the authors do mention the risks involved which is the lacking control on the
brand image of the ingredient. They also say that the poor image of the ingredient have the
risk of adversely affecting the host brand.
Literature Gaps
Though the researcher found a few studies in the academic domain cantered around the
audiences and journalists and content, (Isar, 2016, Singh, 2011), these studies do not at length
cover the perspectives from the media business and revenue. Researcher also found many
critical studies around the content practices of the news room (Bhushan, 2019) and studies
that give a comprehensive view of the news channels from its evolution to its influence on the
nation and its economics and ownership (Mehta 2008, Mehta 2014). From the perspective of
media business Jha (2014) offers a detailed study on the various revenue streams. But all
these studies leave a scope for a systematic work focussing specifically on the advertising as
a revenue stream of the news channels. The researcher found very scarce research bringing
together the single revenue stream and content of news channels. The researcher identified
the scope of exploring a study both from the stand point of economics of news landscape as
well as the content practices of news channels. In an attempt to study the influence on
advertising revenue on the news channels, the study while taking into account the media
planners, journalists and sales and revenue professionals, systematically approaches the
objectives of the research. It also takes into account the Non -Free CommercialTime
Advertising model and delves into the reasons why the advertisers choose to prefer it.
Though the researcher found its mention in the Jha’s (2014) work, but the present study
explores it further. While the news anchors have been a subject of study in a few books and
academic works, however the present study discusses their role in detail from the
perspectives of revenue and content. Panwar and Khan study the news anchors from the
perspective of ingredient branding. However, the present study also examines their relevance
in an environment influenced by advertising revenue. The study also is done with special
reference to Hindi News Channels. The other literatures talk about media, news, media
business in the broader perspective forming the base of the research, facilitating a better
understanding of the topic. But leave a scope to take up the present study.
43
References
Bhushan, Sandeep (2019). The Indian Newsroom: Studios, Stars and the Unmaking of
Reporters. Chennai, Context
Jha, Shilpi (2014) Multiple Revenue Streams and Challenges of Market Differentiation for
News Channels in India ( Doctoral dissertation) Retrieved from Shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in,
Isar, R (2016). Shift Of Indian Media after Liberalisation from Public Good to Profit Making
Institution¬_ A Study Of Commercialisation and Public Perception Of Hindi News Channels
( Doctoral Dissertation)) Indira Gandhi National Open University IGNOU Retrieved from
Shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in, Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/10603/289812
Tapish, Panwar; Kalim, Khan. (2019). Ingredient Branding as a Branding Strategy for News
Channels in India.. International Journal of Business Insights & Transformation, Apr-
Sep2019, Vol. 12 Issue 2, p8-15. 8p: [ABSTRACT] IJBIT/ISSN 0974-5874/V12/02/249/RP8
44
CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Abstract of the Chapter: The chapter repeats the research objective and states the research
questions before describing the research methodology in detail. The chapter details out the
qualitative and exploratory nature of the research. The researcher also talks about the non-
probability sampling used in the research, explaining the rationale behind it. The profile of
the respondents and secondary sources used in the research are also explained.
Research Objectives
The present work has been undertaken with the following research objectives:-
1. To understand certain factors that lead an advertiser choose News Channels in India
2. To understand certain factors that lead an advertiser choose Non-Free
Commercial Time advertising in Hindi News Channels in India
3. To understand the influence of advertising revenue model on news content of
Hindi news channels in India
Research Questions
The questions that are derived from the Research objectives above are:-
a) Which are the certain factors that lead an advertiser to advertise in News Channels in
India?
b) Which are the certain factors that lead an advertiser choose Non-Free Commercial
Time advertising in Hindi News Channels in India?
c) How is the news content of Hindi News Channels influenced by their advertising
revenue model?
Research Methodology
The study is qualitative and exploratory in nature. The choice of qualitative approach to
research is appropriate as the objective is to explore and understand the factors of a
phenomenon rather than confirm and quantify. More than 40 respondents were interviewed in
the study and were included in the research through non probability sampling. The research
used
a) Interviews
b) Secondary Sources
c) Verification and supplementation through images
d) Observation
45
Pilot Study and Main Study
The research was divided into two parts 1) Pilot Study 2) Main Study
Pilot Study: The objective of the pilot study was to understand various factors, issues and
stakeholders of the study in further detail. It was exploratory and descriptive in nature. The
data was collected through a) Semi-structured Interviews with the industry experts and
audiences. b) Secondary research
The pilot study helped the researcher in
● Identifying the further potential data sources

● Understanding the factors of media market, business, viewership and audience
● Identifying the stakeholders of the study
Main Study: The pilot study gave a broad outline to the research and with these
understandings the researcher identified the scope to explore the topic further. The research
identified 3 groups of respondents
a) Marketing Domain Experts b) Journalists 3) Sales and Revenue Professionals
The study was qualitative and exploratory in nature and the data was collected through the
following
Interviews: In-depth interviews with a detailed questionnaire were used in the study. The
questionnaires had a mix of close ended and open-ended questions, which were administered
on telephone, face toface and online. Domain experts from the field of Marketing, News
Content and News Sales and Revenue streams were interviewed through convenience
sampling and snowball sampling. The respondents were experts in their field, had extensive
information to offer. All experts spoke on the basis of their years of experience in the
industry. Few respondents in the study were also reached out more than once for further
clarification, supplementation of information wherever necessary.
Marketing Domain Experts –Media Planners, Buyers & Other marketing and marketing
communication experts have been termed as Marketing Domain Experts here for
convenience and also because they broadly belong to the profession of marketing. Also,
advertising is a tool of marketing. (Chunawalla &Sethia, 2010)
The group of Marketing Domain Experts had a majority of Media Planners from mid -level
to senior profile working in reputed advertising agencies in India. The Media planners are
entrusted with the task of devising a media plan that meets the objectives of the advertisers.
Often media planners and buyers work together for the optimization of plans and negotiation
of prices. The role of a media buyer is not restricted to the negotiating the prices alone. Their
role involves giving solutions to various brand’s challenges with their understanding of the
market. (Menon, 2014). Many of the media planners also held senior positions which also
involve senior roles in their function. Few marketing domain experts included Marketing
professionals from brand side who were handling pan India or MNC brands in India, all of
them also had worked in reputed media agencies. One of the respondents was a
46
marketing and sales professional from a well- known brand who, had an expertise in media
research, planningand strategy and was also formerly employed in a renowned advertising
agency. Lastly the research participants included a veteran with twenty plus years of
experience. He is a former senior director of Media Management with a leading MNC brand
in India. He had also held various senior profiles in other agencies. At the time of the
interview, he was transitioning to the current role of a CEO of a reputed agency from the
senior role of media management.
A majority of the participants in the marketing domain experts category had an experience of
10 plus years, with two of them crossing 20 plus years of experience.
Marketing Domain Experts Count

Media Planners 19
Media Planner & Media Buyer 2
Media Buyer 1
Brand Communication and Media planning 1
CEO of Advertising Agency, Former Senior 1
Director, Media Management of a well-
known MNC brand in India andother
leadership roles in other reputed agencies
Marketing & Sales Professional of a well- 1
known MNC brand in India with expertise
in media research, planning and strategy
and had also workedin a reputed agency
47
.
Sampling: The study used Non -Probability Sampling where convenience and snowball
sampling were undertaken due to the following reasons.
Why Convenience Sampling?
● Lack of availability of respondents to participate in the research

● Present Respondents had extensive information to offer and were willing to
participate in research
Why snowball sampling?
While the researcher reached out to some respondents directly, some respondents were asked
to refer candidates meeting the research requirements as availability of respondents willing to
participate in the research was scarce.
Profile of News Content Domain Experts (Journalists): In the research this group has
been referred to as journalists as this defines their profession. 10 In-depth interviews of Hindi
Television Journalists were conducted through Non -probability Sampling, that is
convenience sampling and Snowball Sampling. These journalists were from the leading Hindi
News Channels operating at an all- India level. Their news channels featured in top 5 news
channels in the list of BARC ratings of Hindi news channels at least twice in the time frame
of one year before the interview was conducted. Additionally, from 15th Feb 2020, to 2 nd
October 2020, their news channels featured in top 5 at least once in the BARC ratings
(Source, 1films n.d.) These respondents were involved in selecting, scripting, packaging and
presentation of news content. They came with high expertise, offered extensive information
and possessed experience in the range of 10 to 20 plus years. Additionally, 9 out 10 of these
journalists had worked in at least more than one News Channel. There were few respondents
who at the time of interview had just exited a Hindi News Channel or were transitioning to
other Hindi News Channel. These respondents were willing to participate and had extensive
information to offer. Hence were included in the research.
48
Convenience Sampling Criteria-
● Have sufficient expertise in the field.

● Should be willing to participate in the research.
● Should be working or have recently worked in a private Hindi news channel
Snowball Sampling Rationale: While the researcher reached out to some participants
directly, some participants were referred by other participants, who were included in the
study.
News Sales and Revenue Domain Experts: A total of 5 respondents were interviewed in
leadership ranks of the sales and revenue departments of the private Hindi news channels
or networks having a Hindi News Channel. These respondents were on senior position
and offered plethora of information from the perspective of media business. It should be
noted that it was extremely difficult to convince these respondents to participate in the
research owing to professional reasons. Their news channels featured in top 5 news
channels in the list of BARC ratings of Hindi news channels at least twice in the time
frame of one year before the interview was conducted. Additionally, from 15 th Feb 2020,
to 2 nd October 2020, their news channels featured in top 5 at least once in the BARC
ratings (Source, 1films n.d.)
News Audiences: For the news audiences’ sect, the secondary sources of data were used.
Secondary Data Sources: Secondary data sources were used where the data was collected
through books, research papers, websites, news articles, news editorials etc. The secondary
data sources also helped in supplementing and verifying the primary sources.
Collection of Images for News Anchor Shows
To substantiate, supplement the responses of the journalists, extensive collection of images

were done and notes were made.
Selection of News Anchors
The news anchors from the Hindi News Channels were chosen on the basis of the responses
of the interviewees (journalists). All the news anchors belonged to all India Hindi News
Channels. In total 6 news anchors were chosen, out of which 5 channels featured in top 5 at
least once in the weekly BARC ratings from the period of 15th Feb-2 nd Oct, 2020 and also
28th March to 15 May, 2020. (Source,1films.in, n.d.). The shows of the news anchors were
chosen on the basis of the responses of the interviewees and the secondary sources.
Source of Images
To collect the images related to their news shows, official YouTube channels of the news
channels were used. While it is common knowledge that the news shows aired on television
49
are also uploaded on the official YouTube channels, the same was confirmed by journalists and
also the researcher had observed this during her tenure as a working journalist in news
channels. To further verify this, the researcher viewed some episodes of the news shows, on
Television and also the official YouTube channels of the news channels and clicked/took
screenshots of the same in order to match them. The sameness of the editorial content was
found. (The researcher did not look into sponsorship elements) The following is the verification
done through images. These news shows were the same as the ones that were take in this study,
on the basis of the responses of the journalists.
Halla Bol, Aaj Tak
3.1a) 10th August, 2021 Episode.
Left: Screen shot of Aaj Tak’s Halla Bol news show on its official youtube channel
Right: Picture of the same show and episode on Television.
Official YouTube channel link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsEFmrJsGyY&list=PLP-
nGFpz3fa8JXCVfuoWqw389g3bw56cH&index=9
50
3.1b) 16th August, 2021 Episode
Left: Screen shot of Aaj Tak’s Halla Bol news shpw on its official youtube channel
Right: picture of the same show and episode on Television.
Official YouTube channel link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMb1y5iP45c&list=PLP-

nGFpz3fa8JXCVfuoWqw389g3bw56cH&index=3
3.1 c) 12th August, 2021 Episode
Left: Screen shot of Aaj Tak’s Halla Bol on its official youtube channel
Right: picture of the same show and episode on Television.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-nARnDMmUM&list=PLP-
nGFpz3fa8JXCVfuoWqw389g3bw56cH&index=6&t=1098s
51
DNA, Zee News
3.2 a) 13th August, 2021, Episode
Left: Screen shot of Zee News’ DNA news show on its official youtube channel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXVKL5FNoHg&list=PLKD9IRjNEpXs38jR16HM9TP
YNx_mEbM6p&index=22
3.2b) 11th Aug, 2021, Episode
Left :Screen shot of Zee News’ DNA news show on its official youtube channel
Official youtube channel link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AG9rNzgiU9k&list=PLKD9IRjNEpXs38jR16HM9TPY
Nx_mEbM6p&index=38&t=34s
52
3.2 c) 10th Aug, 2021, Episode
Left: Screen shot of Zee News’ DNA on its official youtube channel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YuO42pQ2YfM&list=PLKD9IRjNEpXs38jR16HM9TP
YNx_mEbM6p&index=50&t=442s
Poochta Hai Bharat, Republic Bharat
3.3 a) 10th Aug, 2021, Episode
Left: Screen shot of Republic Bharat’s Poochta Hai Bharat news show on its official
youtube channel
Official youtube channel lin

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMKZahFhWko&list=PLCPti6993eOslWzmAHtYgPBP
MWr-SDwmc&index=4
53
youtube channel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXntvlVOI-
0&list=PLCPti6993eOslWzmAHtYgPBPMWr-SDwmc&index=1&t=8s
youtube channel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o13mr70_SAo&list=PLCPti6993eOslWzmAHtYgPBPM
Wr-SDwmc&index=3
54
Desh Ki Behas, News Nation
3.4 a) 10th Aug, 2021, Episode
Left: Screen shot of New Nations’ Desh Ki Behas news show on its official youtube channel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0hwSzPHhmw
Official youtube channel

linkhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHgEQXhUmP4&list=PLEbGyaGL-Rl5XbrbQTS-
kr3cyMkYL7ZLT&index=1
55

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzCBx6zWmQM&list=PLEbGyaGL-Rl5XbrbQTS-
Aaj Ki Baat. India TV
10th Aug, 2021, Episode
3.5 a) Left: Screen shot of India TV’s Aaj Ki Baat news show on its official youtube channel
Official youtube channel link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0Rk-

enfaPc
56
3.5b) 13th Aug, 2021 Episode
Left: Screen shot of India TV’s Aaj Ki Baat news show on its official youtube channel
Right: Picture of the same show and episode on Television
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHQpNLw7URg&list=PLrPV4CIjXWRq9VzZJ7FiAy4
nrR9LPV8Qp&index=4
3.5 c) Aug 12, 2021 Episode
Left: Screen shot of India TV’s Aaj Ki Baat on its official youtube channel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjNFw0K3Yn4&list=PLrPV4CIjXWRq9VzZJ7FiAy4nr
R9LPV8Qp&index=5
57
India Chahta Hai, ABP News
3.6 a) 11the Aug, 2021 Episode
Left: Screen shot of ABP’s India Chahta Hai news show on its official youtube channel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exCQPJ1BC1Q&list=PL4gSUwMBf0L1H4UPPasrCps
XqksHRSowK&index=14&t=5s
3.6 b) 13th Aug, 2021 Episode
Left: Screen shot of ABP’s India Chahta Hai Show on its official youtube channel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLwTfZu9WwQ&list=PL4gSUwMBf0L1H4UPPasrCps
XqksHRSowK&index=8&t=6s
3.6c) 18th Aug, 2021 Episode
58
Left: Screen shot of ABP’s India Chahta Hai Show on its official youtube channel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtFUaCZuwK4&list=PL4gSUwMBf0L1H4UPPasrCpsX
qksHRSowK&index=1
Selection of the Episode Dates:
The episode dates as per the official YouTube channels of the news channels were
considered. To select the dates any two months from March to July using the random number
generator of random.org website was used. The reason for using March to July is because the
sample involved a news show- “India Chahta Hai” that was launched in February 2021 and
was mentioned by one of the respondents for involving different audience integration
characteristics. The months were numbered from March to July and the ones that came up
were April and July. The July month has 31 days and April has 30 days. Hence using the
same random number generator 2 dates were selected for April – from 1 to 30 and for July –
from 1 to 31. The dates that were generated were 6 th April 2021, 14th April 2021, July 2,
2021, July 20, 2021
It was seen that in the process one YouTube link of the programme India Chahta Hai could
not be traced on YouTube by the researcher. Since the objective was to explain, describe and
substantiate and not quantify or measure, another date was generated for the programme
using the same method and website, random number generator and also was further
supplemented by the pictures clicked of another episode when it was being aired on
Television. However even without the missing episode and without the pictures of the live
show telecast the responses could be substantiated from other two episodes.
59
Description of the News Anchor Shows
The news anchor shows were described on the basis of the secondary sources and the images
that also substantiated the responses of the journalists.
Collection of Images featuring the Anchors
To collect the images of the posters and other creatives related to the news anchors, websites
of the news channel’s network, online sources and official social media handles of the news
channels were used.
Image Collection in Other Cases
The researcher also captured images when news bulletins were being telecasted and also has
included images from relevant online sources.
Analysis of Data
The data of the interviews were analyzed using the words, its synonyms, its phrases,
examples, as markers. Elaborate response sheets were made where the words, synonyms and
phrases have been listed for all major topics. Some of them have been also elaborately stated
while listing out the findings in the next chapter.
Operational Definitions
Advertising: Advertising in this research does not include any covert practices and relates to
messages that are openly advertised or sponsored.
Revenue Model: Revenue model denotes a broad structure or frame of earning financial
income.
Two kinds of advertising revenue models were studied in this research – Free Commercial
Time and Non-free Commercial Time. While Free Commercial Time sponsorship in the
study is mainly limited to TVC ads, aired during the commercial break, Non- free
Commercial Time sponsorship avenues include L Bands, logo bugs, laptop branding etc.
While FCT advertising is aired during the commercial break, most NFCT advertising comes
along with news, when it is being aired.
News Channels: In this study news channels mean non -government news channels,
also known as private news channels
News Content: News Content in the study involves all editorial content, editorial features;
editorial content presented by the news anchors, news anchors themselves as well as
presentation elements like show format etc. of the news content. The rationale behind
inclusion of news anchors as content is that, content in the media market space is a product
and journalists are part of the news product for reasons aforementioned.
Format of Shows: Format of the show indicates the general structure of the show, mostly
followed. The structure also mostly involves specific elements, if any.
60
Format of Advertising: Format of Advertising can be different forms of advertising like TVC,
or the kinds of Non -free Commercial Time advertising like brand bugs, L bands etc.
Anchor shows or anchor driven shows: These are news shows either debate or non- debate
shows, generally associated with a prominent anchor who is seen presenting the show.
News Debate or Discussion show: The news shows where anchor holds debates, discussion
connecting with the guests live who share their views and opinions on the topic.
Images: Images include screenshots as well as photographs taken from camera.
References
o Menon, A. (2014) Media Planning and Buying: Principals and Practice in the Indian
Context, McGraw Hill Education (India) Private Limited
o Chunawalla, SA; Sethia, KC. (2010). Foundations of Advertising –Theory & Practice.
Himalaya Publishing House
o Hindi News Channels TRP Ratings Weekly List: October 2020 Updated. .n.d.
1films.in Retrieved from
https://www.1films.in/2020/05/indian-hindi-news-channels-trp-ratings-weekly-
list.html
61
CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS & ANALYSIS
Abstract of the Chapter: The chapter presents the findings in context to the objective and
questions. The findings of the pilot study are discussed first and then it moves to the main
study. The Main study is divided into two parts. In the Part 1, first and third objectives are
addressed together with the corresponding questions and then in Part 2 the second and third
objectives are addressed with the corresponding questions. . The chapter presents the findings
individually of the three categories of domain experts- Marketing Domain Experts, Hindi
News Channel Journalists and Sales and Revenue Professionals of the News Channels
and then presents all the categories of responses together along with the secondary sources
for further explanation. However, while explaining a finding from one category of
respondents, other category is also mentioned, if needed. Also there have been annexure of
response sheets given for further details.
Pilot Study
Before arriving at the main study, a pilot study was undertaken which was qualitative and
exploratory in nature. The researcher interviewed few industry experts and some audiences of
early television in India, along with the secondary research to get an overview of the topic.
The audiences of the early television gave a firsthand account of the early television times in
India with television sets limited to community halls and few elite homes and popularity of
television programmes like hum log. Krishi Darshan and some popular newsreaders. The
industry experts explained the different dynamics of the industry, especially the rating system
in the Indian Television industry. Anurag Batra, a veteran industry expert and chairman and
editor-in-chief of Business world was interviewed about the differentiating aspects of BARC
versus TAM rating system and he pointed out that TAM wasn’t representative in terms of
rural markets and it was under reported. Also, he explained that the niche channels are likely
to be benefitted with the BARC rating system.
Main Study: Part 1

The first objective as aforementioned was to understand certain factors that lead an advertiser
choose News Channels in India. The research question that correspond to it is Which are the
certain factors that lead an advertiser to advertise in News Channels in India? The third
objective is- To understand the influence of advertising revenue model on news content of
Hindi news channels in India and the question corresponding to it is How is the news content
of Hindi News Channels in India influenced by their advertising revenue model? Both these
objectives and corresponding questions are addressed in Part 1. The researcher found the
following findings with respect to the objective and questions.
62
1. Factors that lead an advertiser to advertise in News Channels
Findings: Marketing Domain Experts
25 respondents in this category were asked three questions to get extensive responses. All
these three sets of responses have been individually stated. Also the words, their synonyms
and phrases used to arrive at these categories are also explained, either while explaining
them, or in the annexure or both.
a) The first question was what according to them, were the primary reason or reasons for
the advertiser to advertise in a News Channel.
b) In the second question they were asked to list down all other factors that were
responsible for the advertiser to advertise in a news channel.
c) In the third question they were asked to list down all factors that were responsible for
the advertiser to advertise in a Hindi news channel.
It should be noted that many factors stated by the respondents for both news channels in
general and Hindi News Channels in particular were same. Also, the respondents themselves
confirmed or stated for some factors that were applicable for Hindi News Channels too. This
is not surprising as Hindi news channel is a subset of bigger set of News channels.
1.a) The respondents were asked what were the factors, according to them, were the
primary reason or reasons for the advertiser to advertise in a News Channel. Speaking
on the basis of their years of experience, these were the factors that they stated. A
total of 19 factors were identified.
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Table 4.1: Marketing Domain Experts: Primary factors for advertising in News Channels
Factors %
Reach Mostly Male Audience 60.00%
Frequency 52.00%
Low Ad rates of News Channels 40.00%
To Reach Trade Partners 28.00%
TG of the advertiser 8.00%
Content of the News Channels 8.00%
Reach of the News Channels 8.00%
Reach Both Male & Female Audiences 12.00%
Ratings of the News Channels 4.00%
News as a genre has grown to one of the highest viewership genres 4.00%
Varies from Category to Category of Product 4.00%
Serious Environment of News Channel 4.00%
Credibility of the News Channels 4.00%
Incremental reach over other genres like GEC 4.00%
Media Campaign Requirements 4.00%
Frequency at Lowest ER 4.00%
Channel Share of Viewership 4.00%
Relevant Audience of the Advertiser 4.00%
Target Core Audience of the Advertiser 4.00%
1.b) In the next question, they were asked to list down all other factors that were responsible
for the advertiser to advertise in a particular news channel. A total of 28 factors were
identified.
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Table 4.2: Marketing Domain Experts: All factors for advertising in News Channels
Factors %
Reach Mostly Male Audience 36.00%
Ratings of the News Channel 52.00%
Low Ad Rates of News Channels 44.00%
Perception About the News Channels 40.00%
Frequency 32.00%
Content of the News Channel 28.00%
Reach of the News Channels 28.00%
TG of the Advertiser 20.00%
Advertiser's Brand Parameters 16.00%
Reach Both Male & Female Audiences 12.00%
Marketing Campaign Objectives 4..00%
Advertiser’s Budget 4.00%
Distribution of the Channel in the Market of

Advertiser 4.00%
Time Bands of the News Channels 8.00%
Marketing Communication Objectives 4.00%
Credibility of the Channel 4.00%
Serious Environment of news channels 4.00%
Top of the mind recall 4.00%
NTO 2.0 Impact on the reach of the channel 4.00%
NFCT Elements 4.00%
Ownership of the News Channel 4.00%
Sponsorship Value 4.00%
Opportunity to see 4.00%
Brand Awareness 4.00%
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FTA or Not 4.00%
TG Specific Viewership 4.00%
1.c) In the next question these respondents were asked to list down the factors that were
responsible for choosing a Hindi News Channel by the advertiser. A total of 36 factors were
identified
Table 4.3: Marketing Domain Experts: Factors for advertising in Hindi News Channels
Factors %
Reach Mostly Male Audiences 60.00%
Ratings of the News Channel 60.00%
Content of the channel 56.00%
Frequency 56.00%
Perception About The News Channel 36.00%
Hindi Speaking Market Share of a Channel 28.00%
Reach of the Channel 28.00%
TG of the advertiser 16.00%
Advertiser's Brand Parameters 12.00%
Credibility of the channel 12.00%
Hindi Speaking Audience Viewership 4.00%
Reach Both Male and Female Audiences 16.00%
Distribution of the Channel in the market of the

advertiser 4.00%
Serious Environment of the news channels 8.00%
News as a genre has grown to one of the highest

viewership genres 4.00%
Inventory Availability 4.00%
Varies from Category to Category of Product 4.00%
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Marketing Communication Objectives 4.00%
Media Campaign Requirements 4.00%
Top of the mind recall 4.00%
NTO 2.0 Impact 4.00%
NFCT Elements 4.00%
Ownership of Channel 4.00%
Time bands 4.00%
Brand Awareness 4.00%
Advertiser's Budget 4.00%
Sponsorship Value 4.00%
FTA or Not 4.00%
Frequency at Lowest ER 4.00%
Marketing Campaign Objectives 4.00%

TG specific Viewership 4.00%
Connect/Connection in the North/Western Market 4.00%
Sales & Revenue Professionals of News Channels: While all other findings from this
category of respondents have been stated later, this particular part has been mentioned owing
to its relevance with the objective here. The Sales and Revenue Professionals category of
respondents, were also asked about the reason why advertisers advertise in News Channels
and these are the following factors that they stated.
Table 4.4: Sales & Revenue Professionals: Factors for advertising in News Channels
Reach Mostly Male Audiences 60.00%
Traders and Distributors/target trade 40.00%
NFCT and other non TVC integrations 20.00%
Content 20.00%
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Explanation of the Factors
4.1) Factor Reaching Mostly Male Audiences/Reaching Mostly Male

and both Males and Female Audience
While a significant percentage of respondents stated that through the vehicle of news
channels, advertisers wish to reach mostly Male Audiences, it should also be noted that out of
theserespondents, 5 of the respondents also mentioned that both Male and Female audiences
watch News hence the vehicle of News Channels can be used to reach both. 60% respondents
cited it as the primary factor for the selection of News Channels by an advertiser, 36% listed
it among all the factors and again 60% cited it as factor contributing to the selection of a
Hindi News Channel by an advertiser. It should be noted that out of these 18 respondents
stating this factor, 15 of them cited it in the context of both Hindi News Channels and News
Channels in general. The words/ phrases used the respondents used to describe this factor
were: targeting at male skewed audience, makes the campaign visible to male audience,
target male audience, reach out to male audience, reach male TG primarily etc. (See annexure
1 for details) Apart from this one more respondent additionally cited that one of the factors
for selecting the News Channels is that it can be used to reach both male and female
audiences. Anil Kumar, a senior media planner with 15+ years of Media Planning says, “A
lot of men watch news channels. And that is one big reason so therefore all the brands which
are trying to speak to males will likely to be on news channels”. (A Kumar, personal
communication, June 7, 2020). Similarly, Zarius Captain, another senior Media Planner with
several years of experience in handling umpteen media plans states, “If you have a TG which
is both males and females or primarily men then news makes a lot of sense because news has
affinity towards that type of audience (Z.Captain, personal communication June 28, 2020)
However Mukesh Sain another Media Planner with more than 6 years of experience in Media
Planning states that while male target audience is high in news channels .Female TG is more
effective on non prime timings which is in afternoon like Saas bahu show. (M.Saini, July 5,
2020 (Personal Communication)
Responses of Sales and Revenue Professionals of News Channels for Factor 1

While a significant number of respondents from the Marketing Domain Experts category
reported Reaching Male Audiences as a factor, it should be noted that that three out of five of
the Sales and Revenue Professionals also stated this factor through the these words and
phrases - Core viewership of News Channels is male, advertiser wants to reach that audience
and hence advertises on News Channels; Advertisers advertise in News Channels because of
the TG which is primarily male; Target male viewers, audiences. The researcher, while
observing some Hindi News Channels also found, cases of brands catering solely to men or
both men and women advertising on these News Channels.
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From Left (clockwise) Image 4.1: Rupa Frontline Ad on Aaj Tak, Image 4.2: Lux Cozi Ad
on India TV, Image 4.3 Swagat Proxim Ad on NDTV, Image 4.4: Wild Stone’s TVC Ad on
Aaj Tak , Image 4.5 Raymond’s Advertising on TV 9 Bharatvarsh
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According to FICCI-KPMG (2012), ‘News Channels’ viewership share is disproportionate to
its advertising revenue (being almost double of its viewership. The premium is paid to reach
the Male audience (the core target group of GECs is female)’. The joint industry body
Broadcast Audience Research Council in its report (BARC, 2018) also says that audience in
the news genre of television is male skewed. The report summarises “As compared to Total
TV viewership, News Genre audience is skewed towards Males, age group of 22+ years and
NCCS A & B” (BARC, 2018). However even in the report, numbers show the difference
between the two genders being less than 10%.
4.6) News Genre Viewership Image & Source BARC, 2018
Another FICCI, BARC report titled, “The Changing Face of TV in India” (FICCI, BARC,
2018) analyses the viewership trends of few big news events like “Demonetization”, “State
Elections” and “Rastra Ke Naam Sandesh”and found that women viewership of News
Channels is approximately 44% .
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4.7) Image and Source: FICCI, BARC (2018): Women Viewership of Big News
Events 1
4.8) Image and Source: FICCI, BARC (2018) Women Viewership of Big News
Events 2
Thus both the reports suggest that women are not News averse, even though going by the
data, the viewership numbers for men are slightly higher than women.While the data shows a
slightly higher number of for male viewership for News Channels, but the difference is not
large, which indicates that women are not news averse. Additionally the News Channels can
also be used to target both men and women.
Targeting Both Male and Female Audience with News Channels
Another media planner working in one of the renowned advertising agencies in India gives a
broad over view of a media plan where both female and male audiences are targeted. ‘To
make a media plan for a product where females could influence its purchase, and also where
the planner can’t negate the perception that it is mostly men who have the purchasing power
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, then one may for example take (if budget allows) GEC because that has co-viewing too,
then would layer it with channels like Hindi Movies, Hindi Music and Hindi News. Here in
Hindi News the planner is likely to add afternoon slots too in the media plan which would be
comprised of the ad slots for the entire day’.
Women and News In Other Countries : An international perspective on women and

news
Salve, Andi (2020) in their study based on audience behaviour in across 11 countries say,
“Across all 11 markets, men are more likely to say they are interested in news than women,
and in most countries covered the difference between men and women is ten percentage
points or more”.
4.8) Image and Source Salve, Andi (2020) : Percentage who are interested in news”
The same report also talks about the news sources of the audience and states, “When asked
about their primary source of news, in most markets, women are more likely than men to
report that they use TV news programmes or bulletins, but in a handful of markets there are
no clear gender differences (Figure 4). None of the 11 markets covered have a significantly
larger number of men relying on TV news.”
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4.9) Image and Source Salve, Andi (2020) : Percentage using TV news programmes
4.2) Factor 2: Low Ad Rates of News Channels: In the Marketing Domain Experts
category 40% cited it as the primary reason, 44% cited it among all the factors and 60% cited
it as one of the reasons for the selection of Hindi News Channels by the advertisers.
Interestingly these respondents stated this factor both for Hindi News Channels and News
Channels in general. The words and phrases used to cite this factor are the ad rates of news
channels are much lower, the entry rates (for advertisers to advertise) in news channels are
much lower, rates of news channels are lower than other genres, a low entry cost genre and so
on. (See annexure 2 for details). Similarly, three out of five Sales and Revenue professionals
of News Channels also cite the same factor which would be discussed in later segment of
Sales and revenue professionals, Mediaant.com an online marketing service provider lists the
advertising rates of the media vehicles. Perhaps the rates are indicative, however the
difference between the News ChannelsAd rate per seconds and that of General Entertainment
Channels cannot be ignored. For instance, for Aaj Tak it lists down INR 700 per second, and
for Star Plus it shows INR2700 per second.
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4.10) Source: Media ant.com Ad rates of News Channels
4.11) Source: Media Ant.com: Ad rates of GECs
Several secondary sources also point out the low advertising rates of news channels (Bansal,
2017; Vasanti,2009, Jha,2014) Jha (2014) states two primary reasons for the low adverting
rates of new channels, first the relatively low viewership base as compared to other genres
like General Entertainment Channels and secondly the news channels operating in an
overcrowded market. It should be noted there are close to 400 channels in India as per MIB
website, as stated in FICCI EY Report, 2020. Bansal(2017) also points out that News is much
cheap to buy, in contrast to entertainment channel. Vasanti (2009) says that ‘the low ad time
cost of news which is lower than GECs enable small and medium brands garner visibility in
its target audiences through frequent advertising’
Advertising in News Channels versus General Entertainment Channels
Satish Maurya an esteemed Marketing and Sales professional with years of experience in
research, planning and marketing says, ‘Advertising in GECs is completely a different
strategy all together. If you have to advertise in GEC then first thing you definitely need is a
huge budget. With limited budget advertiser will not be able to run the campaign for a longer
period of time. Also, if the advertiser’s target audience is females and has products like a
washing machine or a refrigerator, then they will more likely advertise on GEC. If you want
to advertise for a product that has viewership in both male and female audiences and
specifically men then it is advisable to advertise on a news channel along with other channels
like movies, sports and GECs.Also, in news channels you would find both morning and
evening primetime, which is unlikely in GECs.’
4.3) Factor 3 : Frequency (News Channels primarily facilitate frequency building)
In the Marketing Domain Experts category 52% respondents in table 4.1 cited Frequency
building as the primary reason. 32% of them cited it among the factors that lead an advertiser
choose a News Channel for advertising and 56% of them cite it as one of the
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factors for the selection of a Hindi News Channel for advertising by the advertiser. 3 of
them mention it for all Tables 4.1, 4.2 &4.3, 8 of them mention it for Table 4.1 & Table 4.3
and 3 of them mention it for Table 4.2 and Table 4.3
The respondents use the words and phrases like, News channels are primarily frequency
channels, They (News Channels) are frequency builders, News channels helps build
frequency, News (channels) act as Frequency Builders etc ( for details see annexure 3) to
explain this factor
Media Planner Anil Kumar and Deepika Kejriwal further explain this factor.’News channels
are seen as frequency channels. So, you do a spray gun kind of approach. You buy multiple
time bands, multiple channels as one isn’t sure where an advertiser will get its targeted
viewership but hopes that you will get some, across all time bands and channels,’ says
Kumar. (A Kumar, personal communication, June 7, 2020). Kejriwal, a media planner
havingworked on several media plans states from her experience that ‘When you want to
build on frequency in a media plan, you need low-cost and cost effective genres wherein you
could ata lesser money get more number of spots. News as a genre comes in handy and it
works verywell for male as an audience’ (D Kejriwal, personal communication, June 29,
2020)
The researcher also looked into the secondary sources to supplement and substantiate this
factor. The same was substantiated by certain quotes in online news articles. An article in
livemint.com, quotes an industry expert, Alok Rakshit and state that according to him
advertisers see News “as a reach builder and frequency optimizer”. It also quotes him saying,
“On general entertainment channels, you cannot have the same frequency of ads spots as it is
many times costlier”(A Rakshit as cited in Bansal ,2017). Similarly, another article by
Amrita Nayak Dutta in theprint.in (2020), quotes another industry expert, CEO of a
communication firm, Sai Nagesh who said “News channels were anyway not chosen only on
the basis of ratings. Factors like frequency-build and lower costs too play an important role in
their selection. The basic reach happens through GECs,” (Nagesh S, as cited in Dutta (2020)
According to Scissors & Baron (2017), while reach refers to the ‘number of people exposed
at least once to the vehicle, frequency refers to how often the average person who was
reached is exposed over a period of time’. They add that some media plans emphasise on
Reach and some on Frequency. They go ahead to state the reasons for emphasising
frequency.
a. ‘Repetition of Message - When the objective of the advertiser is to expose the

messageto its target audience multiple times
b. Uniqueness of Message- Innovative messages are likely to be noticed by the viewers.
However, run of the mill, less impactful messages need more exposures to enable better
recallamong the audience.
c. Perceived value of the brand- The brands standing out in the product category may
require lesser frequency
d. Noise Level- A brand needs more frequency when advertised amidst the clutter of
other brands being advertised
e. Competitor’s Level- Many media planners believe in deciding frequency based at the
levels of serious competitors.
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f. Media Values- The experience led judgement of medium’s effectiveness and deciding
the frequency accordingly’. (Scissors & Baron,2017)
4.4) Factor- Frequency at Lowest ER. One respondent from Marketing Domain Experts
category stated this factor ,‘Frequency at Lowest ER’ both in the case of News Channels and
Hindi News Channels. The respondent used the same phrase to describe the factor.
Menon(2019) states that secondage and effective rate are the basis of deciding frequency
channel. Additionally, she states, image building may be a reason for the selection of
Frequency channel where case selectivity index plays an important role, along with TRPs.
Menon (2019) explains selectivity index as a parameter to indicate viewership preference of
the audiences. It is done by “juxtaposing TG TRP data with the TRPs of the entire base”, The
selectivity index ensures low wastage of advertiser’s spends as it indicates the viewership
preferences of the relevant audience of the advertiser.
Thus.the observations suggest that one of the objectives for certain advertisers to select news
channels in a media plan is to gain more exposures of messaging. This requires placement of
advertisements multiple times in a news channel or distributed over multiple news channels.
This objective is facilitated by the low advertising rates of news channels in specially
comparison to GEC like genres.
4.5) Factor 5: To Reach Trade Partners In the Marketing Domain Experts category, 28%
cite to reach Traders as a factor, in Table 4.2 it is 8% and in Table 4.3 it is 40%. It should
be noted that all 10 of the respondents either mention this factor specifically for Hindi
News Channels or mention it for Hindi News Channels along with News Channels in
general. Thewords or phrases used to express this factor were. Brands want to reach the
retailers, distributors, It also helps them to push the trade, For Traders and distributors, etc
(See annexure 4)
Senior Media Planner Kamla Adhikari states that ‘News is an ideal platform to reach the B2B
consumer. It also helps them to push the trade. So, advertisers also reach the traders and
distributors through news. So both B2B and B2C (especially males) can be reached out
through news’ (K Adhikari, personal communication, May 11, 2020) Senior Media Planner
Anil Kumar too states, “For many advertisers news channels work well as lot of their trade
partners, mostly male watch news channels, like distributors, stockists, shop keepers- etc’
(Anil Kumar, personal communication, June 7, 2020) Similarly another media planner Zarius
Captain adds and points out that that this is also possibly the reason why even the brands
targeting female consumers advertise on news channels. , “To give certain trade push or sales
push, news channels are often added to the media plan. That is why possibly even a female
FMCG brand at times is likely to go for a news channel”( Z. Captain, personal
communication, June 28, 2020)
Sales and Revenue Professionals of News Channels: Two out of five respondents also state
this factor through phrases ‘Target Trade’ and ‘To reach traders and distributors’
4.6) Factor 6: Hindi Speaking Market Share of a Channel and Hindi Speaking Audience
Viewership: In the Media Planner’s and Allied Professions’ category of requirements, it was
noted that while most of the factors were similar in the all the three tables, but two factors
stood out in the case of factors for the selection of a Hindi News Channel by an advertiser.
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a) Hindi Speaking Market Share of a Channel
b) Hindi Speaking Audience Viewership
c) Connect/Connection in the North/Western Markets
While one respondent cited the factor by the same words- Hindi Speaking Audience
Viewership, 7 of them listed Hindi Speaking Market Share of a Channel. The words or
phrases used to indicate this factor were used to state this factor- Hindi Speaking Market
Share of Viewership were, Channel Share in HSM (Hindi Speaking Market), HSM (Hindi
Speaking Market) share in case of Hindi News Channel etc (See annexure 5 for details)
According to Menon, “Share is a competitive benchmarking to understand relative strength”

(Menon,2019). She adds that Channel share is the ‘share of total viewership in a time slot that
a channel gets’.(Menon, 2019) According the respondents the viewership share of the
Channel in the Hindi Speaking Market during a period is an important factor that is
considered while the including a Hindi News Channel in the media plan. Broadcast Audience
Research Council (BARC) India, a Joint Industry Company offering data insights and ratings
to the broadcasting industry distinguish between HSM and South market in its Television
Audience Methodology. Indiantelevision.com states that ‘As per the BARC sources, the
HSM omits the fourth Southern languages-Telugu from Andhra Pradesh and Telengana
Market, Tamil from Tami Nadu and Pondicherry Market, Kananada from Karnataka market
and Malayalam from Kerala Market (Wanvari,2018) Additionally 1 respondent also stated
the Hindi Speaking Audience viewership and connect or connection in the North/Western
Markets of India as a factor for Hindi News Channels.
4.7) Factor 7: Channel Share of Viewership and TG Specific Viewership: In the

Marketing Domain Experts Category 28% of them state Channel share of viewership for
News channels and out of these two of them also state it in the context of Hindi News
Channels. They use words and phrases to express this factor, like, Channel Share of
viewership in market, the advertiser is targeting, Channel Share of Viewership in the
particular market, Channel Share in the market of the advertiser's TG, for instance for Hindi
News Channels it can be HSM etc (See Details in annexure 6)
Some respondents also specify that Channel share of viewership in the market or where the
advertiser wants to advertise or among the target audience which the advertiser wants to
reach, is taken into consideration while selecting a news channel. Another factor expressed
was ‘TG Specific Viewership’ in the context of both News Channels and Hindi News
Channels. by this category of respondents, using the same words ‘TG Specific Viewership’
which indicated the viewership of the Channel among the specific Target Group of the
Advertiser also contributes to the factors leading to its selection by the advertiser.
4.8) Factor 8- TG of the advertiser and Relevant Audience of the Advertiser: 8%

respondents in the Marketing Domain Experts category cite this factor in table 4.1 (Primary
reason for news channels in general) 20% for table 4.2 (News channels in general) and 16%
for table 4.3 (Hindi News channel). Menon (2019) states many data sources to define TG,
ranging from previous brand research to the data of the Household Panel. The word and
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phrases used to explain the factor are Relevant TG to the brand like NCCS A & B etc, TG
affinity matters, Reach TG of the advertiser and so on. (See annexure 6)
Some respondents also state ‘TG affinity’ as the factor. TG affinity denotes how much of the
channel’s audience comprises the advertiser’s TG which the advertiser is trying to reach
through advertising. Another factor stated by one of the respondents for News Channels was
Targeting Core Audience of the Advertiser. Kotler et.al (2009) state that the process of
effective communication should start with identifying the clear Target Audience.
The above factors listed above that is numbers 4.6, 4.7 and 4.8 indicate that the advertisers
want to reach their target audience and the viewership of the channel in the audience they
want to reach. These target audience are their consumers or potential consumers and they
want to spread their advertising message among them. With Hindi News Channels they
especially want to reach the Hindi Speaking Audience as their consumers.
4.9) Factor : Serious Environment of News Channel: Respondents in the Marketing

Domain Experts’ category were of the opinion that Serious environment of the News
Channels is also one of the reasons for the brands to advertise as it lends the credibility and
seriousness to the brand. Satyajit Sen, Former Senior Director, Media Management Samsung,
India, says, “The classical belief is that news is a big medium of a serious environment and
therefore, probably lends certain seriousness about the brand.”Similarly Senior media planner
Anil Kumar also talks about the same factor and says, ‘News channels have a serious
environment that gives credibility to the brand’.
4..10) Factor: Time Bands: Two respondent in the Marketing domain experts category
stated the Time Band of the News Channels as an important factor. While one of them stated
them both for News Channels in general and also for Hindi News Channels, one of them
stated it for News Channels in general. They use the word’ Time Bands’ ‘ Time Band of the
Channel’ to express this factor, wherein, the time bands are taken into consideration while
selecting a News Channel. This factor can possibly be associated with Dayparts. Dayparts
are split into various time periods reflecting kinds of programmes and audiences, in the
process of media planning and buying (Scissors and Baron, 2017).
Channel genres gain relevance as per the time bands. Menon (2019) says, the channels like
News, and Religious channel deliver better performance during the morning. She further adds
that the Day parts should split as per the viewership patterns of the Target Group.
“Continuous half hour bands which deliver similar TRPs should be grouped together to arrive
at distinct day-parts, which are then assigned a market rate.”(Menon, 2019). The marketing
domain experts also say that most media buying deals with news channels happen as Run of
Day Part(RODP) or Run on schedule deals, where an ad is aired in a time band or multiple
time bands or a bigger time duration. Programme specific buys rarely take place. Also, some
marquee shows are sold separately.
4.11) Factor: Marketing Communication Objectives, Media Campaign Objectives and

Brand Objectives in General Media Campaign Objectives: Three respondents in Media
Planners and Allied Profession category state one factor each for both News Channels in
general and Hindi News Channels specifically. Sissors and Baron (2017) say that the
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selection of the media vehicle comes way after. First the markets are analysed to draw out the
strategy and plan of marketing outlining the marketing objectives and the steps to achieve
them.
4.12) Factor: Advertiser’s Budget: One of the respondents in the Marketing Domain
Experts category pointed out Advertiser’s Budget as one of the factors for both news
channels in general and Hindi News Channels. The respondent stated this factor with the
following sentence ‘It also depends on the Advertiser’s budget that how many channels you
can select and which genre of channels you can select’ Kotler et al.(2009) say that part of
advertising is an investment to build brand equity and customer loyalty and state 5 factors to
decide the advertising budget- a) Stage in the product life cycle b) Market Share and
Consumer Base c) Competition and Clutter d) Advertising Frequency e) Product
Sustainability. (Schultz et.al (1984) in Kotler et al. (2009)) Chunawalla and Sethia (2010)
also state the relevance of budgeting and state that ‘advertising being an investment, should
be budgeted like any other investment.’ Menon (2019) also talks about the relevance of
Media Budget allocated by the advertiser, in the media plan, which also determines the length
of the time that is number of weeks or months, the brand can be active. The low ad rates of
news channels further facilitate their viability in the budgets of many advertisers. The
advertising rates of news channels are way lower than channels like GECs ( General
Entertainment Channels). However, as the marketing domain experts stated that News
channels are mostly treated as frequency builders. As a result, more repetitions of messaging
is needed for news channels. Lower in ad rate cost, frequency building is facilitated in news
channels.
4.12) Factor: Reach: 8 respondents in the Marketing Domain Experts category stated reach
to be a factor. They used the word ‘Reach; to describe the factors Out of 8, 6 of them stated
this for both News Channels and Hindi News Channels. One respondent stated this factor
only for Hindi News Channels and one stated it with respect to only News Channels. All
respondents used the term “Reach” to state this factor. Sissors and Baron (2017) say “ Reach
is a measurement of audience accumulation. Reach tells planners how many different
prospects will see the ad at least once over any period of time the planner finds relevant.
Reach is usually expressed as the percentage of universe with whom the planner is trying to
communicate”. According to Menon (2019), News Channels can deliver reach for some
sections like upper Socio -economic Class, older men viewers.
4..13) Factor: Varies from category to category of product: One respondent also stated
this factor both in the case of Hindi News Channels and News Channels in general as one of
the factors influencing the selection of News Channels by an advertiser. Products or services
operating under different categories have their own specific requirements that need to be
considered while undertaking a media plan. Menon (2014) highlights the importance of the
category size as one of the parameters for market prioritization. Market prioritization is
relevant in view of the channelization of the resources in the deserving markets. Category
size becomes relevant to understand the brand’s potential.
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4.14) Factor: NFCT Elements: This factor by the same words ‘NFCT elements’ was
expressed by one respondent of Media Planner and Allied Professions category for both
News Channels and Hindi News Channels. Besides TVC, the news channels also offer other
non TVC integrations like logo bugs, L Bands etc. This would be taken up in detail in the
next section in this chapter.
4.15) Factor: Incremental Reach Over GECs: Another factor mentioned in the same words
Incremental Reach Over GECs (General Entertainment Channels) was expressed by one
respondent from Marketing Domain Experts for News Channels. The News Channels are
used as top over of GECs channels in many media plans hence the additional reach gained
also influences the advertiser to select News Channels. The price comparisons between GECs
and news channels have already been draw above.
4.16) Factor: Inventory Availability One respondent in the Marketing Domain Experts
category also highlighted ‘Inventory Availability’ in the context of Hindi News Channel.
This is of course a pre-requisite and the media vehicles strive to fill their inventories. The
news channels hire dedicated sales professionals to sell their ad inventories to the advertisers.
4.17) Factor: Sponsorship Value that is return on advertising expenditure - Similarly

another respondent in the Marketing Domain Experts category highlighted ‘Sponsorship
Value’ which he explained as the return on the advertising expenditure as a factor in the
context of both News Channels and Hindi News Channels. Advertisers aim for maximisation
of value with their marketing campaigns. Apart from this value ads are additional cherry on
cake offered in some cases.
4.18) Factor: Opportunity to see – This factor was stated by one respondent in the
Marketing Domain Experts category stating ‘Opportunity to See’ in the context of both News
Channels and Hindi News Channels which means the number of times the viewer will have
the opportunity to see the advertisement.
4.19) Factor: Ownership of the Channel- This factor was mentioned by a single respondent
both in the context of Hindi News Channels and News Channels as such by same phrase-
‘Ownership of the Channel’. Going by through the corridors of history one can note that in
2002, Aaj Tak took the public issue route, becoming the first news channel in India to do so.
NDTV followed suit. (Mehta,2008). Hamilton (2006) says, “Since many print, broadcast, and
online news organizations are owned by publicly traded stock companies, taking profit
maximization as the prime motive for news firm managers has credence.”
Three kinds of owners investing in the news business in India- “politician, real estate, chit
fund and money market companies and large corporations.” (Mehta, 2014). He further notes
that many, view news channels as medium to promote “other interests”, thus they put in their
money in news channels. (Mehta, 2014) He also discusses through various interviews that
setting up a news channel involves relatively lesser money. This enables many players to
jump into the market.
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4.20 ) Factor- Brand Awareness – This was another factor mentioned by a respondent in the
context of both News Channels in general and Hindi News Channels by the word ‘Brand
Awareness’. Building brand awareness can be a primary objective of marketing
communication and through news channels advertisers want to do so.
4.21) Factor- FTA- This was yet another interesting factor that emerged out of the
Marketing Domain Experts category. The respondent stated that Free to Air status of the
channel makes the channel visible to a large number of audience and hence influences the
selection of the News Channels. The difference between pay channel and FTA channel is
already discussed in the first chapter
4.22) Factor:- NTO 2.0 Impact- The New Tariff Order 2.0 of the TRAI was also one of the
factors that contributes that selection of the News Channels both for Hindi and News
Channels as such. Jha (2021) writes that the amendments were brought by TRAI in the year
2020. “As part of the amendments, the regulator reduced the cap on the MRP of individual
channels, which can be part of any bouquet, to Rs12 from Rs19 per month”. (Jha, 2021).
4.23) Factor: Distribution of the Channel in the market of the advertiser- Whether the
channel is at all visible or not in the desired market of the advertiser was another factor
heighted by a respondent by the same words for both News Channels and Hindi News
Channels
4.24) Factor: Top of the mind Recall was the other factor mentioned by a respondent in the
context of both News Channels in general and Hindi News Channels by the same phrase’
‘Top of the mind Recall’
4.25) Factor: News as a genre has grown to one of the highest viewership channels- It
was the other factor mentioned by a respondent in the Marketing Domain Experts category
in the context of both News Channels in general and Hindi News Channels by the same
phrase. This can be substantiated by the FICCI EY (2021) viewership data which shows
theNews viewership share of more than 10%.
4..26) Factor- Ratings of a Channel- 13 respondents out of Marketing Domain Experts

category stated this factor for both Hindi News Channels and News Channels. while 2
respondents stated this factor only for Hindi News Channel and 1 respondent stated it only in
the context of News Channels. The words used to describe this was ‘Ratings’, ‘BARC TVR
numbers’, ‘BARC rating’. ‘Channel Ratings’. This factor will be explained in detail in the
next section, separately taken up in the chapter.
4.27) Factor: Perception about the Channel: In the category of Marketing Domain Experts,
7 respondents stated the factor for both Hindi News Channels and News Channels, 2 stated it
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only for Hindi News Channels, and 3 stated it only for News Channels. The words and
phrases used to express this factor were ‘ Perception about the channel’, ‘Perception about
the news channel’, ‘Perception of the news channel in the audience and advertiser; ‘General
perception of the channel in the mind of the brands' consumers/ potential consumers or the
relevant audiences (brand TG)’, ‘Because of the perception created by the news channels
owing to its factors like content and anchors, some brands may want to or don’t want to
associate with or advertise in some news channels’ (See Annexure 7) . The factor will be
taken up in detail in the next section.
4.28) Factor: Credibility of the Channel- This factor was stated by a respondent by the
phrase, ‘credibility of the channel’ both in the context of Hindi News Channels and News
Channels. For certain advertisers the credibility of the news channels plays a huge role as a
factor for selection in the media plan.
4.29) Factor: Brand Parameters- Out of the respondents who talked about the perception
in the Marketing Domain Experts category, 4 also mentioned brand parameters. 2 stated it for
both News Channels and Hindi News Channels, 1 stated for News Channels and 1 stated it
only for Hindi News Channels. The respondents used the following words and phrases
Perception about the news channel (in the audience) should suit the brand parameters The
brand parameters are the parameters like the TG profile of the brand, the TG’s consumer
behaviour, psychographic factors related to the TG, communication of the brand , colour of
the brand , brand endorsers etc. Some brands want to keep their brand image in mind while
associating with a channel, The brand wants to ensure that perception about the channel suits
its brand image. Few Brands want to associate with a channel which fits its brand image. This
factor will be taken in detail in the next section. (See annexure 7 for details)
4.30) Factor: Content of the News Channel- The factor includes both news content and
anchors as the content in the study treats both anchor and their editorial content within
definition of content. 9 respondents stated this factor both for News Channels and Hindi
News Channels. They used words and phrases- news; the news presenters; content of the
channels, News presenters influence the popularity and perception about the content, they
(advertisers) tend to go with a channel that has some credibility with the audiences. And that
credibility is often created by the content and the anchors; success of anchor shows; anchor’s
credibility and popularity; content quality; anchor’s credibility and popularity; owing to its
factors like content and anchors some brands may want to or don’t want to associate with or
advertise in some news channels’; there are some advertisers who refrain from certain news
channels despite the numbers as they have reservations for the content. (See annexure 8 for
details). This factor too will be taken in detail in the later section.
2. Perception, Content and Ratings of a Hindi News Channel
60% respondents in the Marketing Domain Experts category stated ratings to be one of the
factors responsible for the selection of a Hindi News Channel by an advertiser. Similarly 36%
stated perception to be one of the factors behind the selection. The researcher delved deeper
with these factors.
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2.1) Ratings Versus Perception
Further the marketing domain experts were asked that between ratings and perception, which
one is chosen over another for selection of a Hindi News Channel by an advertiser. Despite
being a close ended question, a variety of responses were observed (See Annexure 6). The
close ended ones are grouped together and any other response which even slightly varies has
been put as a different category. 32% stated Ratings for Hindi (News Channel) and
Perception for English (News Channel). 12% mentioned Ratings over Perception for Hindi
News Channels, apart from this most of them favoured Rating for Hindi. In fact, it can be
seen that in most cases it was stated that rating are given importance in selection of a Hindi
News Channels. Also, it should be noted that a few respondents also brought forward the
factor of ad rates that become significant in the selection of any Hindi news channel. (See
annexure 9 for details) One respondent also stated that though it is mostly ratings over
perception that matters. But sometimes how the advertiser themselves perceive the news
channel also matters.
Table 4.5: Ratings Vs Perception
Responses %
Ratings for Hindi, Perception for English 32.00%
Mostly Ratings for Hindi- and sometimes Perception for Hindi
News Channels 4.00%
Both are an amalgamation of perception and ratings, English
would skew a tad more on perception 4.00%
Majorly Rating over Perception for both English and Hindi 4.00%
First comes the channel performance (ratings, share, reach etc) and
then perception for both English and Hindi News Channel 4.00%
Hindi News Channel should be chosen on Channel Share and
English News Channels chosen on the basis of affinity 4.00%
In Hindi, ratings do matter Still rates become a key factor in
deciding. 4.00%
Mostly Ratings Sometimes Perception for Hindi News channels 4.00%
Ratings over Perception for Hindi 12.00%
Mostly Ratings over Perception for Hindi 4.00%
Perception primary for advertiser for Hindi News Channels 4.00%
Ratings and then the rates come in for both Hindi and English
News Channels 4.00%
Perception comes first for English Channel. For Hindi it is ratings
and rates that influence the selection of the Hindi News Channel 4.00%
Depends from advertiser to advertiser Some are ratings driven,
Some are perception driven 4.00%
Varies as per the advertiser. Mostly advertiser considers ratings
but also depends on the content. 4.00%
Most of the time Ratings matter. Sometime Client’s perception
matters for both English and Hindi News Channel. 4.00%
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2.2) Role of Ratings in selection of a Hindi News Channel
The next question asked was what is the role of ratings in selection of a Hindi News Channel
96% and 24 out of 25 respondents of Marketing Domain Experts outlined the importance of
ratings in selection of Hindi News Channel in some way or other, and one respondent
highlighted the relevance of perception. While some just summed up saying that it plays an
important role, some further explained it and associated its relevance with it being a
quantifiable factor or a quantitative evaluation justifying the expenditure etc. The importance
of ratings was highlighted with phrases like big role; significant role, extremely significant
etc. Out of these 24% associated the relevance of ratings with it being a quantifiable factor
which helps in evaluating or substantiating the choice of the news channel.24% of them also
stated rates or cost effectiveness an important factor along with ratings. 12% also stated that
ratings give justification of the advertiser’s expenditure or measures the ROI. 4% that is one
respondent also stated the relevance of Channel share along with ratings. One respondent
highlighted that while ratings evaluate high viewership, but rest channel share data and cost-
effective deal will decide the selection of a news channel.2 respondents that is 8% stated that
ratings helps in selection of a news channel in a cluttered environment. 1 respondent also
stated the availability of inventory being important along with ratings and rate and one
respondent gave examples of two channels where the rating numbers difference is marginal.
But one with better perception with just marginally higher ratings often charges more. (For
details see annexure 10).
Table 4.6: Role of Ratings

Important Role of Ratings 96%
Quantifiable Factor 24%
Rates also important 24%
Ratings gives ROI 12%
Channel Share along with Ratings 4%
Availability of Inventory along with Ratings 4%
favourable perception helps ratings 4%
Helps to choose in a cluttered environment 8%

Rating of top channels are checked and then rate
becomes the deciding factor. 4%
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2.3) Role of Content in Selection of a News Channel
The Marketing Domain Experts were asked about the role of content in selection of Hindi
News Channels.16% stated that content plays insignificant role and expressed it with words
or phrases – insignificant role, almost no role, negligible role or hardly any role. 3
respondents related content to ratings and stated that content eventually drives ratings.5
respondents outlined the importance of content in 5 varied ways. While one said ‘content
leads to stickiness’, the other outlined the relevance of anchors. According to Gaurav Ahuja,
a senior media planner with ten plus years of experience states that “Content is also very
important factor. If the content is good then people will watch the news channel. Who is
hosting the show also decides the content popularity and perception. For example the Rajat
Sharma show” ( G. Ahuja, Personal Communication, June 23, 2020) Similarly another
media planner Shamim Khan states and though news as such is unpredictable but its
presentation matters, “Content drives Hindi news channels. The lead anchors play an
important role.
Purely news is event based and un-predictable. The entire news genre is something that runs
on breaking news, how nicely one portrays, communicates, and presents the entire piece of
news matters”. (S.Khan, Personal Communication, July 13, 2020) The fourth respondent
expressed the significance of content during sponsorship and mentioned that many
advertisers, especially in the recent times are keeping away from the “toxic content”. Finally,
the fifth respondent expressed that content is important for brand fit and depends on the client
brief that is the advertiser’s brief. However, he states that content in news channels is all the
same, the news presenters and the feel of the channel matters along with the news. 4
respondents were of the view that though content rarely plays a role in the selection of a
Hindi News Channel but news anchors or few shows matter do to an extent. They used the
terms, irrelevant in the case of news channels as hardly any content specific buy (happens),
except few shows; Rarely, content plays a role in channel selection of Hindi News Channel
for advertising. But having said that some advertisers have preference for specific anchors;
Hardly any direct role but the anchors can be a factor for the brands to advertise maybe in a
particular news channel (for details, see annexure 8) Kamla Adhikari a senior media planner
states,“Rarely, content plays a role in channel selection of Hindi News Channel for
advertising. But having said that some advertisers have preference for specific anchors. Also
some advertisers are perception driven”. (K. Adhikari, Personal Communication, May 11,
2020). Similarly, Zarius Captain another senior media planner adds. “Content is subjective.
News channels are event based and content is whatever the news of the day is. Primarily on
news channels the 9 pm shows (primetime) or the big anchors often influence the advertisers”
(Z.Captain, Personal Communication, June 20, 2020).
Lastly the another three important perspectives that were highlighted were that the popular
content has additional costs involved. Though it (content) is important but one would have to
pay for that presence. Next was that while content of the channel builds perception and
stickiness, it is rate or cost that becomes important to justify the expenditure and the third was
an observation stated by a respondent. He said that though generally no major role is played
by the content in the selection however ever since the ratings were stalled for News Channels
by BARC, the respondent has observed that advertisers have chosen to stay away from the
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channels because of their content. Besides this there were respondents who also stated that
the role of content depends on the objective of the advertiser; depends from advertiser, to
advertiser, some may have reservations about the content and some may not; Depends on the
advertiser’s objective and the campaign theme; Content plays a partial role; Ratings is a
primary driver in choosing a Hindi News Channel. A respondent also expressed that the
TRAI’s new tariff order popularly known as NTO 2.0 has the potential to restrict the
channels’ reach and bouquet size. Hence it is important to analyse channel across all the
parameters (including content). (See annexure 11 for details).
Table 4.7 Role of Content
Insignificant role 16%
Content is related to ratings 12%
Content is important 20%
Hardly any role except few anchors/shows 16%
Popular Content is Costly 4%
Some Advertisers have become particular

in recent times 4%
Content builds perception, ratings and rates

more important 4%
Depends from client to client 4%
Plays a Partial Role 4%
Primary factor is Ratings 4%
NTO 2.0 Influence 4%
2.4) Ratings Versus Content
The next question asked to the same category of respondents (marketing domain experts) was
Between Ratings and Content, which one is more important while choosing a Hindi News
Channel by an advertiser. 14 respondents stated Ratings. 4 respondents highlighted that
ratings and content are interrelated with the sentences, if the content is good, channel rating
will automatically go up; Ratings and content are interrelated; Rating is also a function of
content; Rating and content go hand in hand. A media planner and a brand marketing
professional who participated in the research on the condition of anonymity says, “Good
quality content leads to higher number of people consuming the content leading to higher
Rating i.e. helping us understand or judge which programme or content is viewed most giving
us an index of the choice of the people and also the popularity of the channel”. Besides this
the respondents also stated that –ratings and content both are important. Another said there
needs to be balance between the two, primary considerations will lean to Ratings. Similarly
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there were responses like Ratings and Advertiser's requirements for Hindi News Channels
are important; Ratings & Content cannot be looked in isolation. Another said that -Both of
them (ratings and content) have a very thin line of difference. But ratings are of high
importance while choosing a Hindi News channel etc. (See annexure 12)
Table 4.8- Ratings Vs Content
Ratings 56%
Ratings and Content are Interrelated 16%
Ratings & Content both are important 4%
Needs to be a balance in the two-

primary consideration will lean to
ratings 4%
Advertiser Requirements along with

Ratings 4%
Ratings & Content cannot be looked in

isolation 4%
Very thin difference, but ratings more

important 4%
Depends on advertiser's objective and

campaign plan 4%
3) Is there any particular format of news shows that are preferred by advertisers in
Hindi News Channels?
This question was asked to the marketing domain experts. 6 stated anchor driven shows, 13
respondents stated they rarely or don’t using words like rarely, hardly, usually no, no, nothing
specific. 1 respondent stated that except for the afternoon shows where the advertiser wants
to target the female audience through News Channels, hardly any shows are preferred. 2
respondents stated that though there is rarely such preference but some advertisers may prefer
anchor driven shows. Three respondents highlighted that the advertisers usually go for time
bands. Also, one respondent stated that advertisers are fine with shows as long as there are
ratings. Finally, the last one stated that some advertisers stay away from shows that take
extreme political stands. (See annexure 13 for details)
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Table 4.9: Format of the shows
Anchor Driven Shows 24%
No or Rarely 52%
Anchor Driven followed by debates 4%
Fine with formats as long as there are ratings 4%
Hardly Few Shows 12%
Advertisers go by time bands 12%
Preference for flagship shows 4%
Advertisers Stay away from shows that take

extreme stands 4%
4) Role of an Anchor in pulling an advertisement for a news bulletins/shows in Hindi

News Channels: Responses of Marketing Domain Experts
The respondents in the same category- marketing domain experts were asked how important
is the role of an anchor, in their opinion, in pulling an advertisement for a news
bulletin/show. Respondents speaking from their experience came up with a variety of
responses. Barring 4 respondents who stated their response with words like rarely, no or not
so much role all other respondents stated the importance of anchor in pulling an
advertisement for the a news bulletin or a show. Out of the three respondents listing rarely,
no, or not so much role, two stated that the insignificant role of anchor in influencing
advertising is mostly because advertisers opt for time bands or run on day part deals. Two
respondents stated that some specific anchor driven shows are bought separately by the
advertisers. Four respondents stated that it is one of the reasons for the advertisers to opt for a
channel or are preferred by some advertisers. Three respondents state that they contribute to
creating perception. Ten of them point out that only few or specific anchors command such
preference by advertisers. Some give examples of some names of the anchors to state the
parameter of popularity of the anchors that influence the advertiser to advertiser, like, ‘Rajat
Sharma, Sudhir Chowdhry, Arnab Goswami , Ravish Kumar etc. . Some use words like
prime time anchors; key anchor shows; big names; few anchors like Arnab, established faces;
if the anchor is old (anchoring for long);’ Few advertisers look to have their presence during
shows of (anchors like ) Arnab Goswami, Rajat Sharma etc. One respondent pointed out that
anchor driven shows are important for doing content integrations. Another respondent also
pointed out that anchors form a connect with the audiences, hence are important for pulling
advertisement. (See annexure 14 for details)
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Table 4.10: Role of an Anchor
Rarely play a role 16%
Some anchor driven shows are brought separately 8%
Anchor shows are a Reason for the advertiser to

choose a channel/Some advertisers prefer anchor
driven shows 16%
Anchors create perception 12%
Few Anchors influence advertisers 40%
Important for content integrations/sponsorship 4%
Connect with the audience 4%
5) How are inventories of News Channels bought?
The marketing domain experts also say that most media buying deals with news channels
happen as Run of Day Part (RODP) or Run on schedule deals, where an ad is aired in a time
band or multiple time bands or a bigger time duration. Programme specific buys rarely take
place with news channels. Also, some marquee or prime time shows are sold separately.
Theyalso say that mostly the inventories are sold on effective rates.
Joshi (2020) in his analysis article on Television media measurement says that,
“Most media procurement, and this is true across all genres of content, is done on an RODP
or ROS basis. In the news genre, for instance, even the leading players sell as much as three-
fourths of their inventory on these terms of trade. (Anyone outside the top 10 sells almost
exclusively on effective rate ER — a global average of all pricing on the entire inventory)”.
Some marketing domain experts also pointed out CPRP – Cost per rating point. Mehta (2008)
says that News for media planners is a medium to get to “newer audiences” at lower costs.
“They buy advertising space based on total reach and the cost per rating point (CPRP) index,
which means the cost of reaching a defined set of viewers within a defined rating point.” The
lower ad rates of news channels make these deals viable for them and this also explains the
hue and cry behind ratings in news rooms.
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6) Responses of Journalists
a) Factors That Lead to Selection of News Stories
Table 4.11: Factors that lead to Selection of News
Factors %
Social Media 90%
Visuals 40%
Ratings 90%
Editorial Stand 40%
Time bands 20%
Target Audience 20%
Big Events 20%
How fast you can put up the news 10%
Connects with People 10%
Some utility to the viewer 10%
Interesting to public 10%
Arouse Curiosity 10%
Public Awareness 10%
News story from the channel reporter 10%
News that People benefit from 10%
Public Interest 10%
Some Value to the society 10%
News Worthiness 10%
Respondents in the journalist category were asked to list down the factors that were
responsible for selection of a events or stories in the bulletin/news show in Hindi News
Channels. It is interesting to note that 9 out of 10 of them mentioned social media or gave
examples of social media platforms- Twitter, Youtube, Facebook. One also gives example of
Baba ka Dhaba trend that became viral and was picked up by the news channels. One
respondent pointed out that ‘Social media like Twitter has become the biggest source of
information and stories that trend also make it to the news bulletins and shows. But decisions
related to content should not be solely taken on social media as social media still has limited
audience. Its audience is dependent on the internet connectivity and the technical know how
to use that medium.’4 of them say on the basis of visuals and express with words like strong
visuals, powerful visuals with news value, visually strong, visually driven stories. Few of
them give examples like floods, accidents, fire. 9 out of ten say ratings are an important
factor, wherein they add that past rating trends are seen and analysed to determine which
topics or events have done well
90
in the past and hence are likely to do well in future too. 4 respondents also state editorial
stand and decisions that lead to selection of a news event. Two state that time slot is an
important factor. It should be seen that time bands also are considered while placing ads in a
news channel as stated by Marketing Domain Experts Two respondents stated target audience
as per the time slot of the news channel. Two respondents state, big events like elections or
budget where planning is done well ahead. There were other responses like public interest;
news that people benefit from; (news that) establishes connect with the audience; news
worthiness; (news that) add value to the society; stories from the reporter; how fast the news
can be put up; arouses curiosity; interesting to public, news that brings some utility to the
viewer. (See Annexure 15)
Graph 4.1: Factors that lead to Selection of News
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0% %
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a) Practices followed to ensure high ratings of news content
The next question asked was which practices are followed or what is done to ensure high
ratings. 8 out of 10 stated presentation elements like scripting, packaging elements like
graphics, visual treatment, editing effects. One respondent stated everything from selecting,
reporting, presentation, packaging. 8 out of 10 respondents stated ratings, where most of them
mention that the previous ratings are analysed to see which topics or news items shown
registered high numbers so that the topics can be considered in future or if a news bulletin or
a show which did well in terms of ratings can be repeated in future. 3 respondents emphasise
on research to bring various angles to the news or to substantiate the news. 1 respondent
stated strong visuals. 4 respondents mentioned social media, what is trending on social media
is considered. One respondent stated that the ‘general belief in the news room is that the
stories trending on social media are popular among the viewers and if shown on news
channels would likely be watched and fetch ratings. 4 stated bringing different angles of a
news event. One stated that how news strategy is decided and planning done before ha nd on
big events like budget, elections etc. 2 respondents stated selection and presenting of news as
per the time band wherein the events are selected according to morning, afternoon and
evening time bands. One respondent stated the flagship shows presented by lead anchors.
One respondent stated showing at least some news stories that are different from other news
channels. 1 respondent stated relevancy of the news stories to the audience. 20% stated
showing news that catches attention of the audience or grabs eyeballs and one stated, news
that interests the audience (See annexure 16).
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Table 4.13: Practices followed to ensure high ratings
Factors %
Selecting , Reporting, Packaging & Presentation 10%
Presentation 80%
Ratings Analysis 80%
Strong Visuals 10%
Thorough Research 20%
Social Media 40%
Various News Angles 40%
Special news strategy around big events 10%
Selection and presentation of News as per Time Bands 20%
Flagship shows driven by main anchors 10%
News stories different from other channels 10%
Showing what is relevant to audience 10%
News that catches attention 20%
Showing Content Appealing to the audience 10%
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90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Graph 4.2: Practices followed to ensure high ratings
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b) Role of anchors in News Content
The next question that was asked was what is the role of anchors in news content
Factors %
Role in driving ratings 50
Anchors important for prime time 20
Audience Connect, popularity 50
Bring credibility 20
Loyal Audience 30
Branding of an anchor decides relevance of

anchors 20
Anchor's brand attracts viewers 30
Only few faces pull viewership 20
Anchors Present Editorial Line 10
Table 4.14: Role of anchors in News Content
Anchors Present Editorial Line

Only few faces pull viewership
Anchor's brand attracts viewers
Branding of an anchor decides relevance of…
Loyal Audience
%
Bring credibility
Audience Connect, popularity
Anchors important for prime time
Role in driving ratings
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Graph 4.3: Role of anchors in News Content
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5 respondents stated that they have a role in driving, getting or influencing ratings of a news
bulletin. Two respondents outline their relevance in primetime bulletins. 5 talked about their
connect with the audiences or their popularity. Some of them also cite their style and
presentation as the reasons for the popularity and connect. Out of these 5, two also stated that
some of them have a big fan following on social media using words like huge fan following
(on social media), followers on social media popularity, viewers develop a connect with
them.Two respondents say they bring credibility to the channel. Three of them talk about the
loyal audience that these anchors generate. Three respondents state that the anchor’s brand
attracts viewers using phrases like (anchor) becomes a brand and attracts viewers to watch
the channel; there are many shows which are influenced by their brand and that brings
viewership; their face value, their style of presentation, their brand matters, they influence
audiences, who tune in for them. Two respondents state that however, only few faces can pull
huge viewership. One respondent states that anchors present the editorial line of the
channel.(See annexure 17 for details)
d) Editorial Content Vs Anchor
Though anchors are considered to be part of content in this study. However, in this question,
the researcher has separated the two and has asked the respondents that in anchor vs editorial
content which one is more important in driving the ratings. 5 of them stated both are equal,
with words and phrases like both, both matter, both are equal, 4 of them stated content with
words and phrases like content, content is more important, and one of them stated though
anchors are important but only some of the anchors are able to play a significant role. The
respondent possessing more than 20 years of experience in Hindi Television Journalism
across multiple private news channels, said that though anchors are important for news
channels and its content, but only few of them are able play that important role and carve that
loyal viewership. Most anchors need that effective content to back them up. He went on to
say that there are anchors like Arnab Goswami who with their style, personality, presentation,
knowledge can hold the show on their own. But these anchors can be counted on fingers.
Table 4.15: News Editorial Content Vs Anchor
Factors %
Both are equal 50%
Content is more important 40%
Anchors are important. But only some anchors play a
significant role 10%
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e)Ways in which news anchors are promoted
The Journalists were asked whether news anchors are promoted. 9 of them stated yes and
answered in affirmative. One stated that it ‘depends on the channel policy, some channels do,
some may not.’. They were then asked how are they promoted. 9 of them stated promos that
is audio visual content and 9 of them stated social media, Facebook, Twitter. 2 of them added
that the anchors also promote themselves through social media/they also put up the promos,
photos (of news channel, news shows etc.) on their own personal account.
Promos 90%
Social Media/ Facebook/Twitter 90%
Hoardings/Posters 30%
Depends from channel to channel 10%
Anchors also promote themselves through social

media 20%
Table 4.15: Promotion of News Anchors
f) Ways to bring Content Differentiation
5 respondents state the challenges of creating differentiation through words like -A lot needs
to be done to create some kind of difference on various fronts ; Differentiation is difficult as
the news event is same; Creating some kind of differentiation is a challenge; So how do you
bring that difference is a task, the biggest challenge in creating that differentiation, is the
social media etc. They cite reasons like the nature of news which is event based, agencies
from where the news in sourced and also the social media where many news events first
appear. The respondents stated many practices they follow to bring that differentiation. 3 of
them stated analysis of news events, 4 of them state news angles, 6 of them talked of the
presentation and cited elements like scripting, presentation by anchors, sets, graphics,
editorial effects, impactful voice over. 3 of them stated different reporter stories. 1 respondent
stated the selection of news as per the target audience of a channel. 4 of them state through
news anchors or the way they present news. Two of them state show formats bring that
differentiation giving examples of how a “DNA” or “Aaj Ki Baat” is different from “Poochta
Hai Bharat” or “Halla Bol” and also highlight that shows like “India Chahta hai “and “Desh
ki behas” bring in audience integration in a big way and also some news shows can have their
distinct properties like DNA has Today in History and also a snippet news segment. (See
annexure 17).
97
Table 4.16: Ways to bring differentiation
Factors %
Analysis of News 30%
News Angles 40%
Presentation 60%
Reporter Stories 30%
News Selection as per TG 10%
Through Anchors 40%
News Show Formats 20%
Graph 4.4: Ways to bring differentiation
News Show Formats
Through Anchors
News Selection as per TG
Reporter Stories
Presentation
News Angles
Analysis of News
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%
g)Description of News Anchor Shows and Social Media Following of News Anchors.
On the basis of in- depth interviews, observations and secondary sources, the researcher
describes the following news shows. These news shows were mentioned by the journalists for
certain aspects. Those aspects of the news shows have been supplemented with images as per
the methodology described in the previous chapter. The anchors and shows selected are on
the basis of information gathered from interviews and secondary sources available.
The shows mentioned by the journalists were- Aaj Ki Baat, DNA, Halla Bol, Desh Ki
Behas, India Chahta Hai, Poochta Hai Bharat. The aspects that were identified from the
interviews were a) Basic formats of the news show. b) Audience Integration in shows Desh
Ki Behas and India Chahta Hai c) Segments Today in History and Non Stop News in DNA
98
The shows have been divided into broad format -debate /discussion and non-
debate/discussion. Secondary sources and personal observation of the researcher suggest the
prevalence of debate shows in news channels where the anchor connects with the guests live
during the show to give their opinions and reactions on various topics.
Hence on that basis shows have been segregated as debate/discussion show. Along with the
description of the news shows, the social media following was also found by the researcher
from the verified social media handles. Twitter and Facebook platforms were selected based
on the findings of a study by Pradhan and Kumari (2018) that show that Indian journalists
used Twitter most for professional purposes and Facebook most in personal life. Also, the
journalists in the study talked about the popularity of anchors on social media.
DNA, Zee News
Daily News and Analysis Show is a non -discussion/non debate show mostly presented by
CEO and Editor in Chief of Zee News, Sudhir Chaudhary, aired from 9 p.m. to 10.30
p.m.(Zee News, 2020, March 16) One of the respondents who was involved in the production
of the programme talks about the general structure of the show which begins with “Non Stop
News” that is fast news and then does “analysis” , “Vishleshan” of important news events of
the day. He also mentioned a special segment of the show called Today in History which
takes the viewers back to the events that happened on that particular day in history. The
attempt is to bring news story angles of that are different from the rest, said the respondent.
The observations also suggest that the show is a non -debate/non discussion show where the
news events of the day are showcased.
Verification and other notes based on images- In 3 out of 4 episode links the segment Today
inHistory stated by the respondent was found. The missing segment in one episode may be
owing to the incomplete content in the link, a separate link of the segment may have been
posted, which the researcher couldn’t trace or that segment might have been dropped on that
particular day. Also in all the four episodes, the anchor presented from the studio and it was a
non -debate/non discussion show.
Social Media Popularity of the anchor: As on 24th August 2021, Chaudhary had 6.4 Million
followers on Twitter and over 2.5 Million on Facebook (verified social media handles of
Sudhir Chaudhary). He and his show are also promoted on the social media handles of Zee
News.
99
Image 4.10: DNA, Zee News Promo
Source: Official Youtube Channel of Zee News
Link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63WPgLIMZ74&list=PLKD9IRjNEpXs38jR16HM9TP
YNx_mEbM6p&index=44
Image 4.11: DNA and Sudhir Chaudhary’s Images from the verified Facebook page of Zee
News
Source: https://www.facebook.com/ZeeNews/photos/4951665838231270/
100
Image 4.12) Verified Twitter Handle of Sudhir Chaudhary
Image 4.13) Verified FB Handle of Sudhir Chaudhary
Verified Twitter Handle of Anchor
https://twitter.com/sudhirchaudhary?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr
%5Eauthor
Verified Facebook Handle of Anchor
https://www.facebook.com/sudhirchaudhary.72
DNA, Zee News: Ratings and Preference among Advertisers
Zeenews.india.com on March 16, 2020 reported that DNA had earned the recognition of
“world’s top news show”. (“World's top news show: DNA World's Number 1 news show
with over 5 crore viewers every month.” 2020, March, 16). It further stated that it was the top
news show in India consistently for 250 weeks in succession. The researcher asked the
Marketing Domain Experts if advertisers have a preference for the show. More than 50% said
they do. Thus, the viewer’s preference here, also matched the preference of some advertisers.
However further studies can be done on whether this preference is because of the ratings or
because of any other factor.
101
Image 4.14: Zee News DNA
Image Source: zeenews.india.com
https://zeenews.india.com/
. Image 4.15: Zee News DNA Graph.
Source: zeenews.india.com
Do advertisers have a preference for Zee News DNA show?
Yes 56.00%
Can be 12.00%
No/Not Sure 20.00%
Only if it comes at a reasonable cost 4.00%
102
Episodes of DNA, Zee News
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z234n962_jo&t=213s
6th April 2021 Episode DNA:
In the episode, Sudhir Chaudhary is seen to be presenting the show. The show is a non-
discussion/non debate show. The episode included Non -stop news that is news snippets. It
also includes a special segment Today in History. The anchor is seen introducing the stories
to be covered in the show with the information in the form of graphics coming in the bottom.
April 14, 2021 Episode, DNA
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHWTRtiwukY
103
April 14, 2021 Episode: In the episode, Sudhir Chaudhary is seen to be presenting the show.
The show is a non-discussion/non debate show. The episode included Non- Stop news that
isnews snippets. It also includes a special segment Today in Histor
July 20 Episode, 2021 Episode
Image 4.18: 20th July, 2021 DNA, Zee News Images
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0wv_ZuwBlA&list=PLKD9IRjNEpXs38jR16HM9TPY
Nx_mEbM6p&index=85
July 20, 2021 Episode: In the episode, Sudhir Chaudhary is seen presenting the show. The
show is a non -discussion/non debate show. The episode included Non -Stop news that is
news snippets. Segment Today in History Couldn’t be found in the clip.
104
July 2, 2021 Episode:
Image 4.19: 2 nd July, 2021 DNA, Zee News Images
Source:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9WImTFEadE&list=PLKD9IRjNEpXs38jR16
HM9TPYNx_mEbM6p&index=170
July 2, 2021 Episode: In the episode, Sudhir Chaudhary is seen to be presenting the show.
The show is a non -discussion/non debate show. The episode included Non -Stop news that
isnews snippets. It also includes segment Today in History
Aaj Ki Baat, India TV
According to India TV news website. Indiatvnews.com ` Aaj Ki Baat is “India TV's flagship
prime time news and analysis show”. It describes the show as an hour long show presented
by Rajat Sharma which shows “biggest stories of the day followed by a detailed analysis of
trending topics.”(Indiatvnews,n.d.). Thus, some important stories of the day are presented
andanalysed on the show.
Verification and other notes based on images: .In all the episodes it is noted that Aaj Ki Baat
isa non- debate/non discussion show, presented by Rajat Sharma.. In all the four episodes the
anchor is seen presenting from the studio.
Social media popularity of the anchor: Rajat Sharma had 8.3 Million Followers on Twitter
and 2.3 Million followers on Facebook as on 27 th August 2021. The images promoting the
show also features anchor Rajat Sharma
105
Image 4.20: Aaj Ki Baat Image
Source: https://www.indiatvnews.com/aaj-ki-baat
Episode: April 6, 2021
Image 4.21: April 6, 2021 Episode
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqQj2BBCfoc&t=2s Episode: April 6, 2021,

Aaj Ki Baat Episode. Anchor, Rajat Sharma conversing with the reporters on the show
Episode: April 14, 2021
Image 4.22: April 14, 2021 Episode: Anchor Rajat Sharma presenting the show and also
talking to reporter on the show.
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXzcMZdAhBk
106
Episode: July 20, 2021
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQvYhB8sp2Y
Image 4.23: July 20, 2021 Episode: Anchor Rajat Sharma presenting Aaj Ki Baat
Episode: July 2 nd 2021
Image 4.24: July 2, 2021 Episode: Anchor Rajat Sharma presenting Aaj Ki Baat
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIog23Ol27Y
107
Image 4.25) Verified Twitter Handle of Rajat Sharma
Image 4.26) Verified Facebook Handle of Rajat Sharma
Source: https://twitter.com/RajatSharmaLive
Source: https://www.facebook.com/RajatSharmaLive
108
Poochta Hai Bharat, Republic Bharat
Republic Bharat which was launched in February 2019, grabbed many eyeballs on the TRP
charts, especially owing to its debate show Poochta Hai Bharat. In August 2020, Republic
world reported, “Arnab Goswami’s ‘Poochta Hai Bharat’ No. 1 Again, Gets 99% More
Share Than No. 2 Channel”. (“Arnab Goswami’s ‘Poochta Hai Bharat’ No. 1 Again, Gets
99% More Share Than No. 2 Channel, 2020, August 20”). The article quoted the BARC
data where the show had garnered a viewership of 22.86% and its competitors News 18 had
received 11.46% and Aaj Tak 11.42% viewership in 7 p.m. slot.
Episodes of Poochta Hai Bharat are mostly anchored by Arnab Goswami or Aishwarya
Kapoor. The show got embroiled in a controversy where it was fined by the broadcast
regulator from UK – Ofcom for “Hate Speech” (“Hindi news channel ‘Republic Bharat’ fined
by U.K. regulator for hate speech”, 2020, December 23)
Verification and other notes based on images: While collecting the images, it was observed
that two of the episodes included a news package before the beginning of the
discussion/debate. Two episodes out of the selected dates were hosted by Arnab Goswami
and other two by Aishwarya Kapoor.
Social Media Popularity of the anchor: No verified social media handles of Arnab Goswami
and Aishwarya Kapoor on Facebook and Twitter could be found by the researcher.
109
Image 4.27) Poochta Hai Bharat Image
Image 4.28) Episode thumbnails from Republicworld website
a) Source: https://www.republicworld.com/business-news/india-business/arnab-
goswamis-poochta-hai-bharat-no-1-again-gets-record-99-percent-more.html
b) Source: https://bharat.republicworld.com/shows/pachata-ha-bharata
110
Poochta Hai Bharat Episodes
Episode: 6th April 2021
Hosted by Arnab Goswami, show included a package before the beginning of the
show
Image 4.29) Poochta Hai Bharat 6th April 2021 Episode
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yflIQgIi_4E&t=33s
111
Image 4.30) Poochta Hai Bharat 14 h April 2021 Episode. Show included a package
before the beginning of the debate
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uniRSIEMDtw&t=459sc
112
Episode: July 20, 2021
Image 4.31: Poochta Hai Bharat July 20, 2021 Episode. Hosted by Aishwarya
Kapoor. The show used, anchor visual graphics to explain the issue.
Source:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FO0no2Lzluw&list=PLCPti6993eOslWzmAHtY
gPBPMWr-SDwmc&index=14
113
Episode July 2, 2021
Image 4.32: Poochta Hai Bharat July 2, 2021 Episode hosted by Aishwarya Kapoor,
involved,Anchor visual, graphics before the chat.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJ1BjQ6WYUs&list=PLCPti6993eOslWzmAHt
YgPBPMWr-SDwmc&index=29
114
India Chahta Hai, ABP News
Through the interviews with the journalists, it was identified that two shows that
integrate audience participation was- India Chahta Hai and Desh ki Behas. In India
Chahta hai, which was launched around February 2021 the news stories are selected
on the basis of viewer’s choice. At the time of launch abpnewslive.com reported that
India Chahta Hai would be a show hosted by Sumit Awasthi, whose topics would be
put to vote on platforms of social media and the topics with highest votes get chosen
and shown on the show. (“India Chahta Hai': ABP News Launch All New Multi-
Format Primetime Show; Here's Where To Watch”. 2021, Feb 12).
Also one journalist stated that the show which is associated with anchor Sumit
Awasthi, has a format where the news stories that are included in the show are
selected through audience choice. Also, in the end there is a special segment where
anchor Sumit Awasthi discusses a word that he posts before on Twitter and shares the
audience reactions on the word.
Verification and other notes based on images: The images of the episodes of the
selected dates suggest the existence of both these elements (news items based on
audience choice and the Twitter word segment) in two designated episodes. The July
2, 2021episode links seemed incomplete and also the elements could not be traced in
thoselinks. Also, the episode links of July 20th couldn’t be found.
Since the objective was verify and supplement the responses of the journalists,
another number was generated through the same method and same website
random.org. The numbers were generated to find a month (in the same duration as
taken for other episodes) and a date in the month was selected as done for other
episodes which came out to be July 9 th. To further supplement this, another episode
images from the television was taken- August 11. Both the show images did
confirm the existence of the two segments.
Social Media Popularity In terms, of popularity on social media, on his verified

Twitter handle, Sumit Awasthi had 1 Million Followers and on verified
Facebook handle he had 324K followers as on 24th August, 2021.
115
Episode 6th April 2021
6th April Episode

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiP5DGX10m0&t=6s
Image 4.33: 6th April 20021 Episode
116
Episode 14th April, 2021
Image: 4.34: 14th April, 2021 Episode
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Df2xRGQC4ns
117
Image 4.34: July 2 nd 2021 Episode
Breaking News on India Chahta Hai. On July 2 nd 2021

Source:
Source:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvK2zd3XBG4&list=PL4gSUwMBf0L1H4UPPa
srCpsXqksHRSowK&index=82
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAtzK181RVQ&list=PL4gSUwMBf0L1H4UPP
asrCpsXqksHRSowK&index=110
118
Episode: July 9th 2021
Image 4.35: July 9 , 2021 Episode Source:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTXUquDpdK8
Episode: 11th August 2021
Episode : 11th August 2021: India Chahta Hai. The topics are selected based on the
audience choices ad also the segment ‘Aaj ka Shabd’ is present where audiences are
asked to send their reactions on a word.
119
Source: https://twitter.com/awasthis
Source: https://www.facebook.com/awasthis7
Image: 4.46: Sumit Awasthi Verified Twitter Handle
Image 4.47: Sumit Awasthi Verified Facebook Handle
Desh Ki Behas, News Nation
Another programme which the respondent reported involves a great deal of audience
integration is Desh Ki Behas on News Nation. Launched in June 2020 (“News Nation
launches new show 'Desh Ki Bahas'”, 2020, June 22). It is a debate show presented by
Deepak Chaurasia, where not just topics are selected on the basis of audience poll but also
involves audience reactions from social media as well as their opinions in a special segment,
“Public Manch”.
Verification and other notes based on images: All the four episodes that were selected
showed the existence of audience poll, reaction on social media, public platform called
public much which connects with the audience to take their reactions. Also the topic of the
debate show isbased on an audience poll.
Social Media Popularity of the anchor: As on 25th August 2021, Deepak Chaurasia’s verified
Twitter handle showed 1.1Million followers and Facebook showed 156k followers
120
Image 4.48:Desh Ki Behas Image
Source: https://www.newsnationtv.com/videos/desh-ki-bahas?ref=ns-nav
121
Image 4:49: Desh Ki Behas 6th April 2021 Episode
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMK833rM8go&list=PLEbGyaGL-
Rl5XbrbQTS-kr3cyMkYL7ZLT&index=927
6th April Episode: Desh Ki Behas, News Nation. The show’s topics are selected
through an audience poll. The show also includes audience reactions from social
media, audience platform called “Public ka Manch”
122
Episode 14th April, 2021
14th April 2021 Episode: Desh Ki Behas, News Nation. The show’s topics are selected
through an audience poll. The show also includes audience reactions from social media,
audience platform called “Public ka Manch”
123
124
Image 4.50: Desh Ki Behas 14th April 2021 Episode
Source : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0M1QnCBdPvk&list=PLEbGyaGL-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AjNALFULh0&list=PLEbGyaGL-Rl5XbrbQTS-
125
126
Image 4.51: Desh Ki Behas 2th July 2021 Episode
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41e8SGrmPW4&list=PLEbGyaGL-
127
July 2 nd 2021 Episode: Desh Ki Behas, News Nation. The show’s topics are selected
128
Image 4.52: Desh Ki Behas July 20th April 2021 Episode

July 20th https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AH1x2j4CU8g&list=PLEbGyaGL-
July 20,2021, Episode: Desh Ki Behas, News Nation. The show’s topics are selected
129
Image: 4.53: Verified Twitter handle of Deepak Chaurasia
Image 4.54: Verified Facebook handle of Deepak Chaurasia
https://twitter.com/DChaurasia2312
https://www.facebook.com/deepakchaurasia23
Halla Bol, Aaj Tak
Halla Bol is a debate/discussion show associated with anchor Anjana Om Kashyap.

However rarely few other anchors are also seen hosting it. According to the
respondent who talked about the show’s popularity also mentioned briefly about the
structure, where the show generally involves a news package in the beginning to give
information about the topic of the discussion, and then the debate/discussion follows.
Verification and other notesbased on images: The images of all the episodes taken
in the study, show anchor Anjana Om Kashyap holding discussion/debate with
guests andalso a package that was shown before the beginning of the
debate/discussion.
Social Media Popularity of the anchor: Anjana, as per her verified Twitter handle,
had 4.6 million followers on Twitter and 311,454 followers on Facebook as per her
verified Facebook handle.
Also, Kashyap featured in the images promoting the channel. These images were
taken from the official social media handles of the channel. Additionally, there were
images found on the official social media handle of the channel which talked about
Live chat with the anchor on the channel’s website- aajtak.in.
130
Episode: Halla Bol 6th April 2021
Image 4.55: 6th April Halla Bol Episode

Link- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAwJxJ7Zgv8&list=PLP-
nGFpz3fa8JXCVfuoWqw389g3bw56cH&index=121&t=31s
Halla Bol, 6th April Episode- Anjana Om Kashyap conducting the debate show. The show
also included breaking news, followed by a news package before the beginning of the chat
with Afzal Ansari.
131
Image 4.56: 14th April Halla Bol Episode

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00g2fXNc7oE
Halla Bol, 14th April, 2021 Episode. Anchor Aajana Om Kashap, anchoring from
West Bengal. Before the debate the show included a package.
Episode: 2 nd July 2021
Image 4.57: 2 nd July 2021 Halla Bol Episode

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Bqs9CQr4js
Halla Bol 2 nd July, 2021 Episode. The show includes anchor explaining with visuals
and graphics and also a news package before the beginning of the show.
132
Image 4.58: 20th July 2021 Halla Bol Episode

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlTklgt49wI
Halla Bol, July, 20, 2021 Episode. The show included a package and also graphics on
the sets before the beginning of the discussion.
133
Image
4.59: Verified Twitter Handle of Anjana Om Kashyap
Image 4.60: Verified Facebook Handle of Anjana Om Kashyap
Source: https://twitter.com/anjanaomkashyap
Source: https://www.facebook.com/anjanaom.kashyap.33
134
Image 4.61: Anjana Om Kashap featured on an image about Aaj Tak’s success, found
on verified FB handle of AajTak
Image 4.62: Anjana Om Kashap featured on an image promoting Aaj Tak ,image
found on verified FB handle of AajTak
Source: https://www.facebook.com/aajtak/posts/10161560415042580/
Source: https://www.facebook.com/aajtak/posts/10157765193797580/
135
Image 4.63: Image 4.62: Anjana Om Kashap featured on an image promoting AajTak,
found on verified FB handle of AajTak
Image 4.64: Anjana Om Kashap featured on an image promoting AajTak, image
found on verified Facebook handle of AajTak
Source:https://www.facebook.com/aajtak/photos/a.10150447603827580/1016146005
2907580
Source:https://www.facebook.com/aajtak/photos/a.10150701103047580/1016159473
8387580
136
Image 4.46: Image about Ajana Om Kashyap featured in an image about Live chat ins
Aajtak.in
Source:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?vanity=aajtak&set=a.10157396656372580
Source:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?vanity=aajtak&set=a.10157833739867580
137
7) Responses of Sales & Revenue Professionals of News Channels
a). Reasons for the advertiser to advertise on News Channels:

The Sales and Revenue Professionals category of respondents, were also asked about the
reason why advertisers advertise in News Channels and these are the following factors that
they stated. These responses have also been discussed while explaining the relevant factors
stated by the marketing domain experts. Three out 5 stated to reach male audience . They
used words and phrases like – Core viewership of News Channels is male, advertiser wants to
reach that audience and hence advertises on News Channels; Advertisers advertise in News
Channels because of the TG which is primarily male; Target male viewers, audiences. They
explained that the primary viewership of the news channels is men and advertisers wanting to
reach the male TG tend to advertise in News Channels. 4 stated Low ad rates of News
channels using words and phrases like, rates are much lower than genres like GECs,
advertising rates are less, low entry cost and ad rates of news channels are low. According to
them the advertising rates of news channels as compared to genres like GECs are way lower.
This makes it easy for them to enter the news channels and start advertising in news channels.
Two stated traders and distributors or to target trade advertisers advertise in news channels.
According to them lot of whole sellers, distributors, retailers, trade partners tend to watch
news channels. So, to reach them they advertise on these channels. This helps them gaining
visibility in that business to business audience. Other factors that were pointed out were
content, NFCT and other non TVC integrations and opportunity to see. (See annexure 19 for
details)
Reach Male Audiences 60.00%
Traders and Distributors/target trade 40.00%
NFCT and other non TVC integrations 20.00%
Content 20.00%
Table: 4.17: Sales and Revenue Professionals: Factors that lead to selection of a news
channel
138
2. Role of anchor in news channel business
These respondents were again asked about the role of news anchors in news business. Two of
them stated that they influence an advertiser or play a critical role in getting advertising for a
news show or bulletin. One of them explains that though there’s not much data to substantiate
this, but it has been observed that the perception created by the anchors have an influence on
the advertiser’s decision.2 of them stated that they play a role or a face brings premium. One
of them stated that the face of an anchor must be supplemented with adequate promotion in
order to get that mileage and the last one stated that the certain news shows have appointment
viewing because of the credibility and fan following of an anchor. (See annexure 20 for
details)
Influences advertiser 40%
News Anchors bring premium 40%
Face of anchor must be supplemented with

promotion 20%
Leads to Appointment Viewing 10%
Table 4.18: Role of Anchor in News Channel Business
3) Role of content in news channel business:
The next question was about the role of news content in news business and a variety of
responses were derived. While a respondent stated that content decides perception which
influences the advertisers. 2 of them stated that quality of the content or content affinity
influences an advertiser to advertise. One of them stated that owing to the event nature of
news, there’s hardly any content differentiation, hence presentation of news is important.
Another perspective that was highlighted was that lack of differential content makes it
difficult to drive reach. Some examples of differential content were also given by the
respondent-Arnab Goswami on Times Now, which many watched .
One of respondents also highlighted the relevance of events organised by the news channels
that give differential content. (News channels organise summits and events frequently
wherein they call renowned personalities to speak) Another important perspective which
came forth was that owing to cost there is little scope for GEC like format show on news
channels as the content costs are also factored in while deciding the Advertising rates .One of
them highlighted the relevance of content for a pay channel which relies on subscription at
least partially if not wholly and lastly one respondent stated that good researched content
gives premium and hence its relevance cannot be denied in news business. . (See annexure
21)
139
Table 4.19: Role of content in news channel business:
Responses %
Content decides Perception 20%
Audience Stickiness 20%
Influence advertisers 40%
Presentation is significant to get audience 20%
Content even more important for Pay Channel 20%
Little Scope for GEC like format shows 40%
Lack of Differential Content Makes It Difficult to
Drive Reach 20%
Good researched content gives premium 20%
Content cost factored in while deciding ad rates 20%
Events (events organised by news channels) can give
differential content 20%
8. Ratings, Content and Perception : In Detail
News like any other media operates in two markets- audience market and content market. In
an economy where the broadcasters remain dependent on advertisers, naturally the news
channels turn to advertisers to survive. While ratings are one of the prime factors
influencing the advertisers, certain advertisers are equally concerned about qualitative
parameters like perception. Ratings indicate the metric of reaching their target audience and
perception suggests giving that message to their target audience through the vehicle that
resonates with their brand image. Content plays a role both in shaping perception and also
driving ratings. Content is also viewed by the relevant audience of the news channels which
the advertiser wants to reach and wants to give its message and also naturally wants that
message to be interpreted the right way. So, certain advertisers are particular with the news
channels they associate with for advertising.
Ratings
TRP is the percentage of audience viewing a programme or a time slot (Menon, 2014).
Similarly, BARC glossary states RAT%-Household is “The percentage of a target audience
who viewed an Event, averaged across minutes. Also known as TRP” (BARC. n.d.) The
relevance of ratings in the selection of both Hindi News Channels and News Channels in
general was brought forward by the respondents in the category of Marketing Domain
Experts wherein 52% of them cited it for News Channels and 60% for Hindi News Channels.
Additionally, when asked about Ratings Versus Perception, which factor is chosen over
another while selecting a Hindi News Channel, a majority of them favoured Ratings in some
way or other. While describing the role of ratings in selection of a Hindi News Channel, 24
out of 25 of them talked about its importance in the selection process and highlighted
multiple reasons for the importance. 24% of them talked about it being a quantitative measure
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which helps in evaluating or substantiating the choice of the news channel.12% also stated
that ratings give justification of the advertiser’s expenditure or measures the ROI and 8%
stated that ratings help in selection of a news channel in a cluttered environment. This implies
the relevance of ratings in the selection of Hindi News Channels by an advertiser. In the
category comprised of journalists, the respondents highlighted the importance of ratings in
both selection of news and for ensuring high ratings in future wherein they state that the
ratings are analysed to gauge performance and also for further content planning. Other studies
also point out the relevance of ratings. Isar (2016) in her study also sees that that a majority
of the journalists found TRP an important factor for news channels. In the study 51% of
them stated that the concern for TRP by the news channels is due to the pressure from owners
and 39% stated the pressure from market.) Additionally, a majority that is 79% of the
journalists in the study felt profit making as the fundamental motive of the private news
channels. According to Isar, all major decisions are taken with ratings in view, including the
decisions to advertise on a channel and the channel strategy (Isar, 2016). Singh (2011) also
found that 63% of the television journalists of the study sample “believed that fetching good
TRP remains above social relevance, national interest and public good.” Moreover, they also
felt that TRP was also a basis for the selection of content, something which is revealed in the
present study too. The viewers in the study by Singh also felt that the issues were being
sensationalized by the news channels for TRPs. (Singh, 2011). The importance of ratings for
both advertisers and News Channels can be traced to the concept of Dual Product Market in
which the media industries operate (Picard, 1989 as cited in Albarran 2010). News being a
product is sold or offered to both audiences and advertisers. Audiences, especially in Free to
Air revenue models, buy or consume the news content for free are in turn sold to the
advertisers who want to reach them to promote their goods and services. Ratings indicate
whether that content is watched by the audiences or not and is also a benchmark of
performance of that content. Ratings enable the media institutions to get information about
the audiences and act on that basis. (Webster et al. 2014), They add that ‘Audience ratings are
tools that are used by the advertisers to buy and sell audiences’.(Webster et al. 2014). Napoli
(2010) talks about the concept of institutionalised audiences which is a construction of the
advertiser and media industries and linked to audience measurement firms. In the media
institutions supported by advertising the thrust has been on acquiring maximum “eyeballs”
and more recently getting only the most “desired eyeballs”. (Turrow, 1997 as cited in Napoli
2010)
Perception
While on one hand ratings which is quantitative data is a factor for the selection of news
channels, Perception about a News Channel which is qualitative in nature is also another
factor. Jha (2014) states in her study, “Advertisers and media planners agree that most of
their advertising decisions related to news channels are based on perception rather reach”.
Perception about the News Channel was also cited as a factor by the marketing domain
experts. 40% stated it for news channels in general and 36% stated it for Hindi News
Channels. In the question of Ratings versus Perception the majority of the respondents opted
for Ratings as a factor suggesting that it plays a greater role while selecting a Hindi News
Channel.
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Marketing Domain Experts expressed the view that there are certain advertisers for whom the
perception about the news channel matters. It was also interesting to note that these
respondents also confirmed or stated that this perception is created by the content and anchors
of the news channels. These respondents were also of the view or confirmed that this
perception. which the advertisers are concerned about is the perception in the minds of the
consumers or potential consumers of the brand or the news audiences who are or are likely to
be the brand’s consumers. Respondents added a number of reasons while citing Perception as
a factor. Senior media planner, Zarius Captain with more than 12 years of experience, having
worked on numerous media plans of many known advertisers, expressed “Because of the
perception created by the news channels owing to its factors like content and anchors, some
brands may want to or don’t want to associate with or advertise in some news channels.
There are brands that may not want to advertise in news channels at all, because of news
content, since most news nowadays is negative. And a brand who is talking about positivity,
fun etc, might want to stay clear of news” (Z. Captain, personal communication, June 28,
2020, July 9, 2021). Kamla Adhikari, a senior media planner with over fifteen years of
experience, working with one of the leading advertising agencies in the country, having
handled several media plans in her career span is of the view, ‘While ratings matter but some
advertisers want to conform to the brand image and reputation and in that case the perception
of the channel matters too. Some advertisers tend to go with a channel that has some
credibility with the audiences. And content and anchors play a role in influencing that
perception of credibility. Also, some advertisers may want to steer away from the
controversies associated with channels’ (K Adhikari, personal communication, May 11,
2020)
Madichie explains the process of perception. “Perception is simply the process of (i)
selecting, (ii) organizing, and (iii) interpreting information inputs in order to produce
meaning that would aid in consumption decision-making.” (Madichie, 2012). The process of
perception comprises- Exposure, Attention and Interpretation. Exposure happens when,
through sight, smell or touch one comes in contact with the stimulus. In the attention stage
extant of processing activity is allocated and in the interpretation level one assigns meaning
to the information or stimuli received. (Madichie, 2012) “Each individual interprets the
meaning of a stimulus to be consistent with his or her own unique biases, needs, and
experiences. Two people can see or hear the same event, but their interpretation of it can be
as different as night and day, depending on what they had expected the stimulus to be.”
(Madichie, 2012).
Thus, the viewers experiencing the news content product of the news channels through
their senses possibly form perception about the news channels. This perception can vary
from individual to individual. This also explains why the same piece of news appeals to one
and not others. For certain advertisers how their target audience perceives the news
channels matters.
Many studies suggest that the advertising messages are interpreted in the context of wider set
of images, meanings derived from culture, media and other associations. Media vehicles also
disseminate content, images that gives audience the references to associate and derive
meanings of other messages they are exposed to. Besides the advertising message and its
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merits, the success in utilizing the appropriate images, styles and icons propagated by mass
media decides the advertisement’s success. (Jhally1987; McCracken 1989; Scott 1990;
Sherry 1987 as cited in Hirschman, Thompson, 1997). Citing further authors Hirschman,
Thompson (1997) give examples of the “frames of reference” that play a role in interpretation
of an advertising message. “Such interpretive frames of reference are essential to
understanding what consumers "do" with advertisements. For example, motion pictures,
television shows, and fashion and entertainment magazines present images, icons, and stories
that give the consumer a frame of reference or schema for interpreting advertisements”.
(Fiske 1989; Kellner 1992; Lutz and Collins 1993; McCracken 1987; Wells and Gale 1995,
as cited in Hirschman, Thompson, 1997). Finally, the duo concludes, “Advertising must
make itself meaningful within the larger ideological realm constructed by the mass media.
Though advertising is certainly a powerful influence on the consumption code in its own
right, it is not the dominant voice. By "singing in harmony" with the prevailing chorus of
mass media texts, advertising may become much more potent as a conveyor of consumption
preferences” (Hirschman, Thompson, 1997).
This suggests the relevance of media vehicles. With their content, the news channels do
disseminate messages that contribute to the wider context and references which the audience
use to interpret advertising messages. This also possibly explains why some advertisers have
started refraining from advertising in news channels associated with highly negative content
and are concerned about the credibility of the news channels.
Out of those Marketing Domain Experts stating Perception, a few of them also stated brand
parameters like psychographic factors namely, TG profile of the brand, the TG’s consumer
behaviour, psychographic factors related to the TG, communication of the brand, colour of
the brand , etc The others talked about Brand Image, wherein they said that the news channel
chosen should be compatible with the brand image. According to Zhang Y (2015) “Brand
Image is the key driver of brand equity, which refers to consumer’s general perception and
feeling about a brand and has an influence on consumer behaviour”. Keller (1993) while
explaining the concept of Customer based brand equity highlights the relevance of brand
image. “Customer-based brand equity is defined as the differential effect of brand knowledge
on consumer response to the marketing of the brand.” He adds, “Brand knowledge is
conceptualized according to an associative network memory model in terms of two
components, brand awareness and brand image (i.e., a set of brand associations)” Keller
relates brand awareness to brand recall and consumer’s recognition performance, he says
“Brand image refers to the set of associations linked to the brand that consumers hold in
memory” (Keller, 1993). Thus, brand image becomes critical for certain advertisers and they
want to associate with those news channels, whose perception conform to the brand’s image.
This perception as stated before is created by the content and news anchors. Hence for them
content and news anchors are of significance for certain advertisers. Few marketing domain
experts also say that there are cases where client’s (advertiser) perception would matter. This
perception can be the result of their own personal experience of viewing the channel or can
be the general or collective perception as such about the channel. One senior media planner
states, ‘there are some advertisers specially some small and medium enterprises who may not
want to go by numbers and want some news channels to be included based on the perception
of the senior management officials or decision makers in the brand (company which is
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advertising)’. It is suggested that some qualitative studies should be undertaken to
understand the perception about the media vehicles in the target audience of the advertiser.
Content
It should be noted that content in the study includes news editorial content, its presentation
elements, as well as anchors. The rationale is that from the media economics perspective
news or the market perspective news is a product or a good and the prominent faces like
news anchors become a part of the product. These news personalities are remunerated for
getting viewers which are the backbone of the news economy. Isar (2016) stated that the
perception of the news channel is built by content and presentation. While listing down the
factors that influence an advertiser to select a news channel, 8% marketing domain experts
mentioned it as a primary factor, 28% of them mentioned it while listing down all the factors
and 56% stated content as a factor for Hindi News Channels. While talking about the role of
content 20% of them do mention that is important. In the question about ratings versus
content 16% of them pointed out that both are interrelated. In another question about the role
of anchors in pulling an advertisement for a news bulletin or a show, a majority of them
talked about their significance in one way or other. While some mentioned that they are one
of the factors that contribute to the selection of the news channels, the others said that some
anchor shows are bought separately by the advertisers and some said that they play a role in
creating perception about the news channel. A significant number however did point out that
only a few popular faces influence the advertisers.
Respondents from the Sales and Revenue professionals category too state that the both news
content and anchors influence advertisers. It was also found from the responses that both a
popular face as well as well researched content brings premium. Sudipto Chowdhuri,
Executive President, Sales at India TV says, “Content drives perception of the channel and it
also helps to improve audience stickiness. It has been observed in past that advertiser prefers
to partner with news channel who have better content affinity with figure and ground
relationship, however In news, FTA and Pay can’t be differentiated in terms of content. We
don’t have any data to support influencing advertising. But we can surely say that Anchor
perception and audience liking always impact advertisers’ decision”. (Sudipto Chowdhuri,
Personal Communication, April 3, 2021) News channels in India are Free to air or Pay
Channels. While FTA or Free to air channels are solely dependent on ad revenue. Most pay
News channels are partially dependent.
Case of brands refusing to advertise on News Channels/Channels with ‘Toxic’ Content
Amidst the TRP controversy around the month of October 2020, some advertisers refused to
advertise on news channels or channels promoting “toxic content”.(“TRP scam: Parle joins
Bajaj Auto inblacklisting ‘toxic’ TV channels”, 2020, Oct 13); (CNBC-TV18, 2020) ("Parle
Refuses to Advertise on News Channels that Promote 'Toxic Content', Twitter Calls it
'Genius'", 2020, October 12), Industrialist Rajiv Bajaj in his interview with CNBC-TV 18
stated that "Our brand has never been associated with anything we feel is a source of toxicity
in the society," (“Don't want my children to inherit an India built on hate: Rajiv Bajaj on
blocking ads for toxic channels”, 2020, Oct 13)
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Economictime.indiatimes.com quoted Bajajs’ interview with CNBC and reported him saying
"a strong brand is a foundation on which you build a strong business. At the end of the day the
purpose of a strong business is to also contribute to the society. Our brand has never been
associated with anything we feel is a source of toxicity in the society." "Out teams can spot
channels and newspapers that are toxic and hate mongering in the society and we can't find it
in ourselves to continue to be supportive of such a medium no matter what repercussions it
may have on the business” (Don't want my child to inherit an India built on hate: Rajiv Bajaj
on blacklisting TV channels, 2020, Oct 13)
Similarly Livemint.com reported senior category head, Krishnarao Buddha from Parle
Products Pvt Ltd. saying, “We are exploring possibilities wherein other advertisers can come
together and sort of put a restraint on their advertising spends on news channels, so that there
is some sort of a clear signal to all the news channels, that they better change their content,"
As reported by livemint.com Buddha added that ‘channels promoting aggression and toxicity
are not the kind the company wants to put money into as it does not favour its target
consumer’. (Tewari, 2020, Oct 10).
News18.com reported this incident in the following words
“Parle Products the maker of much loved Parle G biscuits announced that they will not be
advertising their products on Indian media channels that promote and show aggressive
content. According to a report by Mint, senior category head of Parle Krishnarao Buddha
said that the company will refuse to advertise on news channels which are toxic or involved
in the alleged TRP scam. Buddha added that the company is in talks with other advertisers so
that they can collectively put a restraint on advertising on such channels in order to send a
clear message. (Parle Refuses to Advertise on News Channels that Promote 'Toxic Content',
Twitter Calls it 'Genius', 2020, October 12). Similarly, RS Sodhi, Manager Director, Amul in
Bestmediainfo.com was quoted saying, “Amul currently spends 35-40% of its total television
budget on news. Undoubtedly, news channels are an important medium to reach out to the
consumer and hence you cannot stop advertising on them completely. But, having said that,
you can always pressure the ones that do not behave. Without mentioning any particular
incident, we can definitely tell them to behave and not to show unwanted aggression,” said
Sodhi (Sharma, 2020, September 28).
This incident again brings to limelight the relevance of content where brands are refusing to
advertise in news channels or channels which are source of “toxicity” or promote “toxic
content”. The word “toxicity” was used by industrialist Rajiv Bajaj while talking about his
company’s decision to blacklist some channels and discontinue advertising on them. Many
publications used similar words like “toxic content” “toxic” news channels/TV channels
while reporting Bajaj’s stand and the others’ brands reactions/comments thereafter.
Deccanherald.com reported the case with a headline-“TRP scam: Parle joins Bajaj Auto in
blacklisting ‘toxic’ TV channels” (TRP scam: Parle joins Bajaj Auto in blacklisting ‘toxic’
TV channels, 2020, Oct, 13). Similarly Daily hunt reported the headline-“TRP scam: Parle
joins Bajaj Auto in blacklisting 'toxic' TV channels” (TRP scam: Parle joins Bajaj Auto in
blacklisting 'toxic' TV channels, n.d) In the interview too one of the marketing domain
experts used the words “toxic content” while talking about the content of some news
channels.
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a) Content Key to both Ratings and Perception.
As aforementioned the findings show that both ratings and perception influence the selection
of a news channel. However, be it ratings or perception, content plays a significant role in
driving both. While ratings ultimately signify the popularity of content, the perception about
the channel is also shaped by content. Hence how the content is shaped or strategized
becomes key to the news channel economy. News like other media product especially in an
advertising led revenue space, operates in two markets- audience market and content market.
Advertisers wanting to reach their desired target audience viewing news advertise in news
channels. On the other hand, the viewers or audiences want to consume news and they pay
for it with their time and money. Even if they are not paying money they do watch it in lieu
of an opportunity cost. The opportunity cost is the non -monetary cost the viewers pay by
using their time in choosing to watch the content. The time that they allocate for watching
the content could have been used for any other activity if they would not have used it to
watch the content. Thus, it ultimately boils down to preference of content by the viewers or
by the brand looking for some compatibility with their brand’s image.
b) Influence of Perception on Content
Some marketing domain experts in the present study state that the perception about a news
channel is an important factor for the selection of a news channel and they also state that this
perception is created by the content and anchors of news channels. Like any other product,
experience or exposure especially repeatedly of the news product is likely to create
perception in the minds of the consumers. Certain brands want that perception to be
congruent with their brand image and their reputation and hence become particular about the
content too. Additionally, the aforementioned case discussed about brands, blacklisting news
channels because of their content, also indicates the growing relevance of content of news
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channels to the advertisers. Moreover, advertisers in all likelihood would want their
messagesto be interpreted rightly. Hence the media vehicle that delivers their message
becomes equally important for them. The news channels disseminate messages that
contribute to the wider context and references which the audience use to interpret advertising
messages. This also possibly explains why some advertisers have started refraining from
advertising in newschannels associated with highly negative content. The marketing domain
expertsalso suggested that advertiser’s perception can also influence the decision of selection
of a channel. This perception can be the result of their own viewing experience of the
channel or the general perception as such about the news channel.
c) Influence of Ratings on Content
Marketing domain experts in the study pointed out how ratings become an important factor
for selection of a news channel. The ratings are quantifiable and become the basis of
evaluation for the advertisers. The principal source of revenue for broadcasters in India is
advertising and in a crowded news space, the competition becomes even more cut throat. A
majority of the respondents in Journalists category stated that ratings are a big consideration
while selecting news events. Also, ratings are analysed to see which news stories worked and
which didn’t to plan and design content strategies further. Mehta (2008) says, “To a large
extent, revenue flows determine how a news content is produced, packaged and put on the air
waves by news channels.” He also underlines that though intangible factors like credibility
have a bearing on advertisers, the ratings do influence the content.
The overreliance over advertising revenue has meant reliance on ratings for the content
strategies, the journalists make, for the news channels. The content that passes on the
parameter of good ratingsis is often preferred and the formula is repeated. Additionally, the
price ceilings put by the authorities on the pricing of news channels for subscribers also kills
the incentive of creating good content, pushing the news channels to only stick to content
that pleases the ratings metric, notes Mehta (2015). Rao (2016) says that News Channels are
more interested in catering to the advertisers and concerned with TRPs as the audiences are
not the direct reason for revenue. Though he expects the scenario to change post full
digitalisation but if the ratings systems remain the way it is, the scene is not likely to change
because of the continuation on the dependence on advertising as the primary income.
Like any business model where the cost of producing the products are factored in while
deciding the prices, same happens with news channels too. Sales and Revenue professionals
in the study also said that the cost of content creation is factored while deciding the
advertising rates. Rates are also an important factor for the advertisers, especially when news
is used more as a frequency builder where more slots are preferred, often across multiple
news channels. This frequency building is facilitated because of the lower advertising rates of
the news channels.
As a result, certain shows involving higher costs are discouraged because of the highly
competitive advertising rates in the market. In the past there have been attempts to bring
shows like anchor hunt (which was like a reality show on general entertainment channels),
and few other shows with different formats. However, the respondents revealed that high
production costs and then the expectations about
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the look and feel of the show became a deterrent. The expectations from these kind shows were
high and from few of the shows audiences’ even expected them to match the look and feel of
GECs, which news channels owing to their limited resources are unable to match. Often good
quality content demand high costs too. And in the presence of lesser subscription revenue, and
overcrowded market, the news channels can hardly be hopeful of recovering the costs from the
viewers. As a result, they turn to advertisers and thus, news channels become interested in
churning the content that pleases the market metrics like ratings.
10) Social Media and News Content
In the age of social media, news events often first appear on the social media platforms first
giving tough competition to the news content creators with respect to breaking the news.The
journalists also stated that social media trends play an important role. They give examples of
the trends like #BabakaDhabha #PawriHoRahiHai, which received a wide coverage across
news channels. They say that often what is trending is selected as one of the practices to
ensure good rating numbers as the trending hash tags on social media are an indicator of their
popularity among people. One respondent also states that the general perception in the news
room is that if a news story trends on social media, it indicates that viewers are interested in
the story and are likely to watch it on television. Gokhale (2020) also notes in his study that ,
“Many TV channels show news and programs based on the posts getting viral on social
media”. He states that social media, is an important source of news and also a platform for
promotion of news. Bhushan (2019) says the prominence of social media has overshadowed
the reporter’s role. He discusses the case of degraded role of reporters in the news channels
and the trend of downsizing them. He explains the financial reasons behind rise of “news
shows” which are relatively cheaper to produce. He analyses the state of “dumbing down” of
content and states, “Breaking news, talking heads, the relegation of reporting to the back end,
retrenchments of the news personnel, the slide in salaries and age profiles –all this led India
to the current phase of dumbing down.” (Bhushan 2019)
11) Dearth of Differential Content
News by nature is based on event, though it is not just an event (Kumar, 2021; Fowler ,1991
as cited in Kumar, 2021). The news is event based and owing to that virtue news cannot be
imagined and created like fiction content. Content creators cannot imagine or create news,
unlike fiction content. News can be selected and packaged. This itself raises a challenge for
the content creators. Many scholars note the phenomenon of lack of content differentiation in
the news space citing many reasons. Jha (2014) cites reasons like dearth of resources, talent,
rising expenses of distribution etc for lack of differentiation. She points out that though there
is are plenty of events happening in the country, the same events are also available to almost
all channels. The audiences who have abundant options at their disposal is likely to pay
attention to the content that is offering some newness (Jha, 2014). Bhushan (2019) explains
the phenomenon of homegenisation of news owing to several factors like retrenchment of the
reporters, degrading their role, most channels sourcing news feed from the wires. This has
resulted in lack of variety and decreasing investigative format stories. Additionally, the
source of news when coming from wires, reaches most news channels subscribing to the
wires. As a result, same news stories reach the news channels. Bhushan (2019) states that
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many news channels source their footage from news agency, ANI which has led to
“homogenisation” of news. As a result the same ANI footage and bites appear across the
news channels. Journalists in the study also say that the event nature of news, the social
media and the sourcing from wire feeds have added to their struggles of creating
differentiation.
Since one cannot create news, the journalists opine that efforts are made to package and
present news to stand out in the crowd of multiple news channels showing the same content.
Also, some of them talk about the news anchors, their style and presentation, exclusive
reporter stories, bringing different news angles, bringing different news show formats etc as
ways of bringing that content differentiation.
12) News Anchors & News Anchor Shows
The content in this study also includes news anchors. The relevance of news anchors was
reported by all three categories of respondents. While the Marketing Domain Experts
category of respondents stated that that certain anchors influence the advertiser and also some
anchor news shows are bought separately. Similarly, the respondents from sales and revenue
professionals category also stated that they influence the advertisers. The respondents in the
journalist category also talked about their role in driving ratings, as well as their connect and
popularity among other factors like loyal audience, bringing credibility and attracting
viewers. These respondents also stated the ways these news anchors are promoted through
promos, social media, hoardings etc.
Most of the marquee shows mostly showcased during the prime time on Hindi News Channel
were observed to be presented by prominent faces. For instance Halla Bol is a debate show
mostly anchored by Anjana Om Kashyap. Poochta Hai Bharat on Republic Bharat is also a
debate show sometimes anchored by Arnab, Goswami, and sometimes by Aishwarya Kapoor.
Sudhir Chowdhuri is associated with prime time show DNA on Zee News where the show
analyses important news events. Rajat Sharma’s Aaj Ki Baat on India TV is also a round up
of the important events of the day bringing out various news angles. Sumit Awasthi on ABP
News is associated with India Chahta Hai wherein news events are selected on the basis of
preferences of audiences. Deepak Chaurasia is seen presenting Desh Ki Behas on News
Nation.
Bhushan (2019) says that the financial factors including declining advertising revenue
promoted studio -based shows over the reporter based stories. These studio -based shows led
by anchors is further strengthened by social media. He says, “In a fragmented market, the
best, and perhaps the only successful way to survive is through loud opinionated studio-
based discussions. The more outrageous the anchor –turned studio performer is, the higher
are the chances of grabbing eyeballs.” He also talks of the main anchors of news channels
and their relationship with advertising revenue.
He states that “Star anchors have advertisements riding on them. They distinguish one
network from another at a time when news content is, by and large, uniform”. (Bhushan,
2019) The respondents in the present study also stated that certain anchor shows are brought
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separately by the advertisers and also how they become one of the reasons for the advertisers
to advertise in news channels.
a) Opinion Based Shows and Debates
The prevalence of debates, discussion shows or shows with analysis of events and
presentation of editorial line are a widespread phenomena across the primetime of news
channels today. In the debate discussion shows led by news anchors, guests present their
opinion, and in non -debate news shows, the prominent news anchors present the editorial
linewhile analysing the news events.
Devi (2019) while inquiring into the widespread views/opinion based prime time
programming in television news writes that the low subscription and increasing dependence
on advertising revenue is getting reflected on the content. The focus is on creating content
involving lesser cost and offering high ratings at the same time. Opinion based shows achieve
this objective. In terms of genres debates and discussions reflect views that are polarizing in
nature, shaping the news channel identities in a cluttered space. Devi also notes that such
content reflect bias and are against the tenets of objectivity and fairness in journalism. (Devi,
2019)
Devi (2019) cites many domain experts in her study, prominent journalist Rajdeep Sardesai
being one of them, who says that in a cluttered market there’s the urgency of standing out.
Though this can be achieved by investigative journalism, but it involves monetary investment
as well as time investment. The news channels resort to debate- based shows hoping to
appeal to certain viewership section and he notes it leads to creation of loyal viewership.
Similarly, Zakka Jacob, another noted journalist cited by Devi (2019) also talks about the
cost effectiveness of the debate shows which involves some talking heads that saves the costs
of reporters going to field. Also, since the prime time the viewers are already aware of the
main news stories of the day, the opinions on the main stories are presented. Vinod Dua
another famous journalist also says in Devi’s (2019) study that owing to global recession
affecting the revenues of news channels, where they are largely dependent on advertising
revenue, the news channels have cut down on the costs of reportage from the fields. This has
led to the emergence of shows that are studio -based discussions which involve lesser costs to
produce. Nalin Mehta, author, academician and a journalist also agrees that the views culture
is the outcome of ratings driven content. (2019) A sizable chunk of both viewers and
journalists participating in Gokhale’s study (2020) too felt repetition, partiality and
exaggeration as objectionable attributes in News Channels. Gokhale (2020) notes that from
2008 to 2018 news presentation has changed considerably with television pitch of the news
anchors increasing over the years, aggression becoming more important, showing fast news
more thandetailed news and the online and offline graphics use.
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b) News Anchors for Product Differentiation
“Product Differentiation means that the established firms have brand identification and
customer loyalties, which stem from past advertising, customer service, product differences
or simply being the first into the industry”.(Porter, 2004/1980) Porter (2004/1980) also points
out that differentiation offers advantages against the competition owing to the loyalty in the
consumers towards the brand and also they display lesser sensitivity towards the price.
Differentiation also serves as a barrier to entry for other firms as the loyalty in the customers
can be a deterrent for others trying to enter the industry (Porter, 2004/1980). According to
Albarran (2013), “Product differentiation refers to the perceived differences among
products”. Considering that news is a product and news anchor a part of its product,
researcher tries to explore the scope of product differentiation for news channels.
Sengupta and Singh (2020), in their study through both survey and qualitative interviews with
Indian respondents from different age groups found that a significant percentage of
respondents had a preference for news anchors of their choice, whom they watched on
Television and other platforms. A major reason cited by these respondents was the credibility
associated with the news anchors.
Brand as defined by The American Marketing Association is “a name , term, sign, symbol or
design or a combination of them, intended to identify the goods or services of one seller or
group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of competitors”. (American Marketing
Association as stated in (Kotler et. al. 2009) News channels producing news content products
are also brands in themselves. Through different communication material they do try to
promote themselves and their products as was observed from the various images featuring
anchors, pushed through their social media channels.
Also the secondary sources also point out their marketing campaigns. For instance, in 2014,
India TV launched its marketing campaign to promote its new look. The image also featured
the prominent face, Chairman and Editor in Chief of the News Channel, Rajat Sharma (“India
TV launches marketing campaign to promote its new look, India TV News Desk”,
2014, January 07) Similarly Aaj Tak too launched a campaign with a series of films, directed
by noted filmmaker Pradeep Sarkar, featuring Aaj Tak’s anchors. (“Aaj Tak celebrates 20
years of ‘Sabse Tez Style’ with new campaign”, 2021, February 26). Another campaign was
the one launched by ABP news in 2018- “Desh Ko Rakhe Aage”. (“ABP News Network
launches new brand campaign”, 2018, December 6). In the year 2020 too, ABP network
launched another campaign. (“With a refreshed identity, ABP Network launched nationwide
campaign across its news channels”, 2020, December 18)
Also, during her tenure as a working journalist, the researcher observed many marketing
activities undertaken in news channels to brand themselves.
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Image 4.64 India TV Marketing Campaign, 2014
Source: Indiatvnews.com
Pawar and Khan (2019) analyse news anchors and news channels from the perspective of
Ingredient branding. Panwar and Khan (2019), suggest that news anchors can bring that
differentiation by playing a role of news channels’ ingredient brand and news channels
playing their host brand. According to Desai and Keller (2008), in ingredient branding “key
attributes of one brand are incorporated into another brand as ingredients, is becoming
increasingly popular among marketers.”Kotler, et al (2009) say that ingredient branding is a
case of co-branding wherein the brand equity is built for things that are within other branded
products. Aaker (1991) defines brand equity as “A set of brand assets and liabilities linked to
the brand, its name and symbol that add or subtract from the value provided by a product or
service to a firm and/or to that firm’s customers.” Brand Equity can be classified into 5
categories- “Brand Loyalty, Name Awareness, Perceived Quality, Brand Associations in
addition to perceived quality and other proprietary brand assets- patents, trademarks, channel
relationship etc.” He further adds many benefits of brand equity adding value for both the
consumer and the firm. Among many benefits he includes that it influences consumer’s
confidence in making purchasing decisions and increases brand loyalty, allows premium
pricing and lesser dependence on promotion for the firm.
Branding as such is about giving the products the brand power, facilitating differentiation
between the products. The products that appear identical can be assessed differently by the
consumers because of their branding. Their previous experience with the product as well as
the marketing programmes help them evaluate about the product. (Kotler et al; 2009) In
times when the lives of consumers have become more complex with time constrains, the
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brands can be highly useful with their ability to make the decision making process less
complex and in decreasing risks.( Suri and Monroe. 2003, as cited in Kotler et al 2009)
McDowell (2004) emphasizes the relevance of branding in a crowded space saying that such
a crowded marketplace necessitates the need of brands that are highly differentiated for
survival. He states, “The power of a brand name to engender strong, favourable, and unique
brand associations is what many marketing researchers call brand equity”.(McDowell, 2004)
In the face of high competition and audience fragmentation the audience who are
uncommitted are susceptible to switching the brands leading to unpredictability in ratings and
revenues. Similarly, Olmsted and Cha (2007) also write, “distinctive and meaningful news
brand images” are becoming more critical in the race of ratings supremacy in this media
market”. Developing competitive benefits only on the basis of product qualities has been
difficult even though TV news brands have tried it, they say. Additionally, Olmsted & Cha
(2008) in their study found that “antecedents such as an audience’s attitude toward an
affiliated television network, perceived importance of anchors, and use of television as a
news source help shape the brand personality of a network news product”. These researchers
approached the work from the “brand personality” construct and used these dimensions of
news brand personality- of competence, timeliness, and dynamism. Though all these
researchers have based these studies on news brands abroad, their implications in the Indian
context can possibly be identified. It should be noted that Indian news channel market is
highly crowded and news channels fiercely compete for ratings. News being event based
poses further challenges. Thus, branding can possibly help them stand out.
Differentiation is a major challenge for the news channels in the crowded market in India. Jha
(2014) says by the virtue of plethora of social and political events happening in the country
there is no dearth of content available for News Channels which are event driven. But the
same events or content is also present across all channels. With so many options at one’s
disposal, audience is likely to be pay attention to the channel offering differentiation and
newness in either content or presentation. Due to lack of differentiating content News
Channels have to find other ways for differentiation against the competitors. News channels
through anchors acting as their ingredient brands can find that differentiation. (Panwar and
Khan, 2019) Studies have shown that ingredient branding leads to associations that are
favourable to the host brand (Vaidyanathan & Aggarwal, 2000; Keller & Desai , 2002)
Additionally, Panwar and Khan (2020) argue that ingredient branding can help in
differentiating against the competing firms in a “highly commoditized market”. Tiwari and
Singh (2012) find that ingredient branding supports host brand equity under factors like" co-
branding , perceived quality attitudes towards the brands , Brand esteem, memorablility,
Reduce Market outlay , reliable and likeability" Under Perceived quality they say that
ingredient branding facilitates in increasing the host brand's quality, enhancing the reliability
for the host brand, host brand can attain brand esteem, besides other factors.
Desai and Keller (2002) examine two kinds of ingredient branding, co-branding and self-
branding and find that ingredient branding can help the firms to introduce a new quality in the
category of the host and also sometimes expand the host brand’s usage. Another unique
finding is that it helps the host brand to expand in categories, where it could be facing the
challenges of expansion alone. However, they do mention that the ingredient brand must be
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relevant to the host brand and have adequate equity and fit, to display it positive influence.
Panwar and Khan, 2019) say that ingredient branding for news channels should be adopted
carefully as it might have side flipside. Norris (1992) says that whether it is appropriate to
implement ingredient branding, is would depend on factors like manufacturer‐supplier
relationship, the need to differentiate the brand, and the ability to implement the new
branding strategy”. Kotler & Pfortsch, (2010). also state the risks of ingredient brand
superseding the host brand in terms of brand value. Similarly, Vaidyanathan and Aggarwal
(2000) also highlight the risks involved, which is the lacking control on the brand image of
the ingredient. They also say that the poor image of the ingredient have the risk of adversely
affecting the host brand.
News Anchor Shows: Analysis
Scholars and industry experts do point out that studio- based news anchor shows which can
be opinion based involve lower costs. In a scenario where news channels’ effective revenue
sources are limited, these studio- based shows may turn out to be cost-effective. However
some also say that many of them go against the tenets of objectivity in journalism. But
studies highlight that viewers do have preference for certain anchors. News anchors not just
through physical appearance but also their style and presentation differ subtly or significantly
from other anchors. Moreover, the news shows associated with some of the news anchors
boast formats which may be subtly or significantly different from others. The news anchors
can serve as ingredients to the brand of news channels and through ingredient branding news
channels can possibly achieve differentiation in a cluttered market. It was observed through
various images and communications that news channels are already promoting themselves or
their news products with the help of their news anchors by featuring them in their films,
images, promos etc. This resembles the case of ingredient branding. However this should be
done with caution. It should be noted that ingredient branding comes with its shortcomings
like the risk of ingredient brand becoming a bigger brand than host brand. Thus, it is
advisableto take up such marketing exercises with caution. Also, these news anchors who are
mostly associated with particular news shows, and the question arises that can they be
separated from the news shows they are presenting? And if separated from each other, would
they continue to have that recall and popularity in the audiences? How much is the
contribution of the content in the popularity of the news anchors? Also, would both, the news
channel and news anchors continue to have the same popularity if separated from each other?
More studies are needed in this direction.
13) Influence of Corona virus Pandemic on News Channels
In year 2020 the news genre saw a growth in viewership of 27% over the year 2019,
capturing a 10.4% share of the total viewership of Television. From a viewership share of 7%
during the pre COVID times it registered a massive viewership share of 21% of total TV
viewership in the prime COVID week that is week 12, that started around 21st March (
BARC, 2021) While Hindi News Channels garnered a growth of 29% of viewership over
2019 and the English genre saw a decline of 2% ( BARC, 2021) Another important
development noted by the rating agency was the growth of viewership during the Non -Prime
Time of a few genres including News (26%) in comparison to 2019.
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In terms of Ad volumes the news channels saw a marginal decline but in terms of genre
share it held one third of total ad volumes as stated by BARC in its report (BARC, 2021).
TAM AD Ex reports the dip in Ad Volumes in the News genre in the period of April to June
2020, and saw a gradual rise July 2020 onwards.
Image 4.63: TAM: Ad Volumes per day of News Channels
Source: https://www.tamindia.com/category/tv/page/4/
According to Sudipto Chowdhury, Executive President, Sales India TV, “In the months
around April, May, June, July, August, television news witnessed very different kind of
viewing patterns. With high ratings, the cost per rating point for the advertisers decreased
drastically, so all the advertisers who advertised benefitted. However, the market as such
wasn't yielding, as a result the demand for advertising went down for television news (private
news channels), across all genres; be it English or Hindi. Many advertisers stayed away from
advertising and those mostly dealing with essential goods continued to advertise. They got
benefitted the most (S Chowdhury, Personal Communication, April 16, 2021)
155
14) Suspension of BARC Ratings
In Oct 2020, BARC ratings were suspended, amidst TRP scam crisis. The interviews with the
marketing domain experts revealed that in the absence of the ratings data the decisions are
being taken on the previous data. Various online news reports through interviews with
industry experts mentioned that while in the short term no major impact for advertisers has
been felt as ratings are not the sole criteria for the selection of news channels. However, in
the long term, absence of ratings can create complications. (Munjal and Tiwari, 2021; Dutta,
2020)
Main Study: Part 2
The second objective was -To understand certain factors that lead an advertiser choose Non-
Free Commercial Time advertising in Hindi News Channels in India and the corresponding
question is Which are the certain factors that lead an advertiser choose Non-Free Commercial
Time advertising in Hindi News Channels in India?. The third objective was To understand
the influence of advertising revenue model on news content of Hindi news channels in India
and the corresponding question was, How is the news content of Hindi News Channels in
India influenced by their advertising revenue model?
The respondents in the category of Marketing Domain Experts were asked two questions
pertaining to this objective
FCT Vs NFCT
Q1) Between FCT (Free Commercial Time) and (Non Free Commercial Time)- which is
the preferred format of advertising by advertisers in Hindi News Channels. 17 out of 25
respondents stated that FCT is preferred or mostly preferred by the advertiser. The words and
phrases used for FCT, Mostly Prefer FCT, FCT is preferred, FCT primarily. 2 respondents
stated though FCT is preferred, a client generally runs NFCT along with FCT or tops NFCT
over FCT, if they have a TVC.“ If client has a TVC, they always prefer to run the TVC along
with some non-FCT activity” (A. Abraham, personal communication, June 14 , 2020)Similarly
the second respondent, a media planner and a buyer with 15 plus years of experience, who
agreed to participate in the research on the condition of anonymity owing to professional
reasons says, “Since FCT (TVC shown in FCT) is an audio visual medium, FCT is a
preferred format, however few clients due to no availability of a commercial go for non FCT
route. Otherwise, most of them top up over FCT buy to get multiplier effect” (Anonymous
informant, personal Communication, July 2, 2020). Two respondents stated that the
advertisers prefer a ‘healthy mix’ or a ‘mix’ of both NFCT and FCT formats of advertising in
Hindi News Channels. One respondent stated that it depends on “Communication Objective”
and another one respondent that it depends on the “Client Requirements and creative
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format”. Another one stated that ‘both are important”and the remaining one respondent
chose “NFCT’ option.
Factors that lead an advertiser choose NFCT advertising in Hindi News

Channels
Q2) The second question was regarding the factors that lead an advertiser choose
NFCT advertising in Hindi News Channels.
a) Absence of Television Commercial: 9 respondents stated that in cases of absence of

Television Commercial, the advertisers opt for Non Television Commercial Time
Advertising. They express it with words and phrases-‘When brands don't have a
commercial’, ‘In case TVC is not available’, ;Advertisers who don’t have a TVC’,
‘Generally advertisers with no TVC go for NFCT’, ’No availability of a
commercial’,’ When advertiser doesn't have a TVC’,‘ Absence of TVC with the
advertiser’. ‘The bigger factor is no TVC & other factor is impact’ ,’In case any
advertiser doesn’t have any TVC creative which they can air’.’Advertisers not having
television Commercial’
b)NFCT is visible when the News content is played- 7 respondents stated that NFCT is visible as part of
the content and hence advertisers opt for it. They use the following words and phrases to express this
factor-‘Advertisers who prefer it, they do it because it is coming as part of the content, when the news is
being watched’; ’They (Advertisers) take NFCT to be present during the news’; ‘They (NFCT) are
served within the news and not during the break’, , ‘NFCT is shown when the news is played’, ‘ (NFCT
gives) More visibility as it is advertised while the news is on’ ‘It is visible within the news ’(for TVC
one has to wait till commercial break) ‘Exposure during live news is the major factor influencing Non
FCT selection’ A report in exchange for media also shows that there is a significant difference in break
and programme TVR, with TVR during break being 13% lower. (“Ad Breaks - Is the audience watching
your ads? An exchange4media analysis” 2019, August 8) HenceNFCT sponsorship by their virtue of
appearing with the News, offers more visibility to the advertiser.
c) Better or More visibility to the advertiser: Out of the 7 respondents above, three of
them also added that being present while the news is playing gives more visibility to
the advertiser with words-‘better visibility’, ‘garner more visibility ‘ more visibility’
‘adds to the visibility of the brand’ Shamim Khan an experienced media planner
having worked with numerous advertising clients says,” Being present while
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consuming News is the apt positioning a brand can have during their campaign.
Targeted eyeballs on the news can give better visibility to the brand.” (S.Khan,
Personal Communication, July 13, 2020). Additionally 3 more respondents use words,
‘More visibility’ or ‘Added visibility’ to describe the factor. In total 6 respondents list
Better or more visibility to be a factor.
d) Communication Objective: One respondent stated Communication objective as the

reason behind the choice by the same phrase.
e) Top of the mind awareness and build recall :3 respondents stated “Top of the mind
awareness” as the factor and another one states ‘build recall’ as a factor leading to the
choice of Non Free Commercial Time Advertising. The words and phrases used are
Top of the mind awareness and Build Recall.
f) Generates Impact on the audience: 3 respondents stated that it creates an impact on

the advertiser. They use words/phrases like, “The other factor is impact”.(It creates
impact on the audience, “ Impact property”( leaves an impact on the audience),
“Generates impact”
g) Preferred on big and special events- Another respondent stated that NFCT advertising
is preferred during the “big and special events like budgets and election”.
h) Served when receptiveness is high- Another respondent stated the factor that NFCT is
served to the audience when “the receptiveness is high” as it is served along with the
News and not during the breaks.
i) For strong association: Another respondent stated that for building strong
associations, NFCT properties are very useful. Deepika Kejriwal, an experienced
media planner says, “If you want to build some kind of imagery or you want to build
strong associations with certain properties, then you on a long run associate with Non
FCT”.( D Kejriwal, Personal Communication, 2020, June 29)
j) Clutter Breaking- Another respondent calls NFCT “Clutter breaking” which

according to him is one of the factors that lead an advertiser choose Non -
FreeCommercial Time Advertising.
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Responses of the Journalists
As aforementioned 10 journalists from Private Hindi News Channels were interviewed and
they were asked about the role of non -free commercial time advertising in News and here
were the responses. They were also explained what Non free Commercial Time Advertising
meant.
a) Source of Revenue: 5 respondents stated it as a source of revenue and used the

following words and phrases- Source of Earning Revenue, Compulsions of revenue,
get revenue, big tools of monetisation, a revenue source
b) Creates Clutter on Screen: Three respondents expressed that it creates clutter on

screen, using words like – too much intrusions on the content space, makes the screen
cluttered, leads to distortion and a cluttered screen.
c) A Source of Content: Some respondents also responded to the news content

associated with non- free commercial time advertising, In relation to elements like
textheadlines snippets or text news highlights which often have Non Free Commercial
Time sponsorship, 3 respondents also stated it as a source of content with words like –
Major News Pointers, Gives gist and highlights of news, Gives Precise Information,
Delivers Content in crisp manner, Presents news in crisp form, so a content
opportunity.
d) Eases viewing and consumption of News Again in context to the elements like text
headlines snippets or text news highlights which also have Non -free Commercial
Time sponsorship, three respondents stated that it leads to easy consumption of news
with words and phrases like, helps in seeing the news in less time, also increases the
chances of covering a lot of news in a crisp manner, Viewers can get information
faster. This helps especially when they are in hurry. It enhances the readability of
news, one can read it easily.
e) More visibility to the advertiser: One respondent also pointed out that since it is
presented with the news content, it offers “more visibility to the advertiser.”
159
Case of dichotomy of content and sponsorship.
Though this case refers to an English News Channel but the dichotomy of content and
advertising cannot be ignored here. According to menxp.com, the topic of the debate on
Republic TV news channel revolved around boycotting Chinese goods. However in the
programme, two brand sponsorships popped up- VIVO and Xiomi (Bhalla, 2020, June 17)
.Wikepedia mentions Xiomi as a Chinese multinational electronics company and Vivo a
Chinese technology company headquartered in Dongguan ( Wikepedia, n.d). By the images
in the pictures of the show it is clear that it is the case of Non -Free Commercial Time
Advertising. News is event based and by the very virtue of this nature most of the content
cannot be predicted before, barring pre-decided events like budget and elections, where again
most details cannot be predicted. This also gives the scope to dichotomy between news
content and brand ethos as exemplified in the case study of the Republic News Channel.
The interviews with the Media Planners reveal that one of the demerits of the Non -Free
Commercial Time advertising is that though it appears along with the content, the advertiser
mostly has no control over news and also the timing of the advertising messaging. As a
result, such dichotomy that possibly go against the ethos of the brand can occur. Thus, special
care must be taken while firing the Non FCT elements and this vigilance should come from
both the advertisers and news channels. In case of any event going against his brand and
brand parameters, the advertisers ideally should become proactive in informing the News
media about when to use their sponsorship elements and when not. However, in the long run
this canbe detrimental to editorial news content as too much interference by the advertiser
can go against the tenets of journalism.
Source:menxp.com
NFCT Sponsorship by Brands from China on Republic TV
160
c) Influence of NFCT Advertising on News Content.
The following examples of the L Band Ads clearly show that some Non Free Commercial
Time Advertising elements occupy a sizeable portion of screen space and the screen space
appears with multiple information pointers along with visuals. This makes the screen of the
news further cluttered as the screen already displays elements like supers, tickers, breaking
news etc. Thus, from the presentation point of view, the influence of NFCT advertising is
clear. However, at the same time certain content products are especially sponsored by
NFCTadvertising. These are text headlines, weather reports, toons. These content products
come with their own merits. For instance, text headlines where multiple news events appear
in a concise manner that eases news viewing and makes news consumption possible in
lesser time.
Besides headlines, the branding logos etc also appear on laptops, mugs, studios. This again
influences the viewing experience, especially presentation of news. Thus, NFCT form of
advertising is influencing the content by the very virtue of the nature of advertisement which
appears with the content and influences the presentation of news content.
L Band Sponsorship
Image 4.64: L Band Sponsorship on Republic Bharat
161
Image 4.65: L Band Sponsorship on TV 9
162
Branding in News Studio
Image 4.68: Branding in News Studio on Republic Bharat
Text Headlines Sponsorship
Image 4.69: Text Headline Sponsorship on Aaj Tak
163
Image 4.70: Text Headlines Sponsorship on Aaj Tak
Image 4.71: Text Headlines Sponsorship on TV9
164
Laptop Branding
Image 4.71: Laptop Branding on India TV
Weather Content Sponsorship
Image 4.72: Weather Content Sponsorship on Aaj Tak
165
Brand Logo Bug
Image 4.73: Brand Logo Bug on Aaj Tak,
Brand Logo Bug on NDTV
Image 4.74 : Brand Logo Bug on NDTV India
166
Non -Free Commercial Time advertising usually appears with the news content
simultaneously. As a result, it gives more visibility to the advertiser (an analysis by
exchange4media.com states the significant drop in viewership during the commercial breaks).
While being an advertising opportunity, it also becomes a content opportunity, in cases like
text headlines where the sponsorship appears. Such content is presented in concise manner
which possibly facilitates consumption of news, as information can be attained in lesser time.
In the overcrowded media space with multitude of content is available, demanding the
viewer’s attention, such text headlines etc can give the needed information in lesser time.
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CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION, LIMITATIONS & SCOPE
Abstract of the Chapter: The chapter goes at length to discuss the research findings, the
limitations and scope of further studies. The chapter sees the entire thesis from all
perspectives and offers suggestions that can be taken up in future for subsequent research.
Discussion
Advertising revenue model and content of news channels cannot be seen in isolation. They
involve a multitude of factors, often influencing each other. In the dual product market news
as a product, appeals to both advertisers and audiences. While advertisers reach the audiences
watching the news content, audiences watch the news. In the Indian media economy,
advertising revenues outweigh the subscription revenues for the broadcasters in the ratio of
approximately 70:30. As a result news channels’ reliance on advertising revenue is clearly
visible. While Advertisers are interested in reaching their Target audiences to put their
advertising message across, they also in all likelihood would want their message to be rightly
interpreted. Ratings in a way for advertisers, are a measure of whether they are able to reach
their target consumer and the desired numbers of them or not through content. On the other
hand, the perception plays a role in whether that advertising message cushioned in news
media vehicle is rightly interpreted or not and whether the news channel suits the image of
the advertiser’s brand or not. Though certain advertisers can be ratings driven and some can
be perception driven and for some of them the right balance may be of importance.
To answer how is the content of Hindi News Channels influenced by the advertising revenue
model; it is primarily through two factors ratings and perception. Be it perception or ratings,
the content is central to both the factors. It is content that plays a role in creating a perception
about the news channels and content also influences ratings, as rating numbers ultimately boil
down to audience consuming the content. Rating is a market metric of the content that is
considered while selecting a news channel. In an advertising led news economy, advertising
revenue model has an influence on content and has been pointed out by many scholars before
(Mehta, 2008, Mehta 2015, Jha, 2014) Mehta (2008) says, “It is true that advertisers do not
just look at ratings when they decide to place their advertisements- they also look at
intangible factors like credibility –but their influence on news programming is undeniable”.
The present research too points out the influence of ratings that becomes not just a parameter
for the advertisers but also the journalists, who look at the rating data while deciding their
news content strategy. In a scenario where most channels are heavily dependent on
advertising led revenue, there is a pressure to create content that finds favour with ratings and
works well on the TRP charts. This phenomenon can be summed up in words of one of the
respondents who stated “Saara khel hi TRP ka hai” (It all depends on TRP). Some journalists
also say that ratings also are a feedback system for them. One important finding that came up
in the study was the influence of social media, where not just audience responses are
integrated in the news bulletins or shows but also topics trending on social media are selected
for news shows and bulletins. The general perception in the newsroom behind selecting
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topics trending on social media, is that the stories trending on news channels indicate the
interest of the people and hence if shown on television would likely fetch ratings, says a
journalist holding a senior profile in a leading Hindi News Channel.
However, the research also shows that certain advertisers are becoming concerned about the
content of news channels too. Also, the recent incidents of advertisers black listing news
channels/channels for their content, point out that advertisers are influenced by the content
of news channels. Also a few marketing domain experts did point out that some advertiser’s
might refrain from advertising on news shows which take extreme stands.
Perception about the channel is another factor that shapes the advertiser’s decision to
advertise in a news channel. Certain advertisers are particular about the media vehicle and
want it to be in harmony with the brand image of the product or the company. This is
possibly because while delivering the message to the target audience is important, it is also
important that message be rightly understood and interpreted by the audiences and for that
the vehicle which is delivering the advertising message is equally important. This is where
the perception about the news channels comes into play. Marketing domain experts stated in
the study that some advertisers are concerned about the credibility of the news channels and
some may not want to associate with the news channels churning out negative content, at all.
It is suggested that news channels, advertisers and industry bodies should do/ continue to do
some qualitative studies to understand the perception in the consumers about different genres
of television channels, including news.
In a crowded market like news channels in India, bringing differentiation can be a challenge.
Since media operates in two markets -advertisers and audiences the challenges of
differentiation can be looked from two perspectives “content differentiation and audience
differentiation” (Jha, 2014). This, is because, while advertisers want to reach their target
audiences, the audiences want to consume content. For the advertisers of Hindi News
Channels, Hindi Speaking Market is an audience market which the advertisers want to reach.
From the gender profile of the audiences for certain media planners and advertisers the news
channels facilitate in reaching the male audience, while some want to reach both the genders-
male and female. The data shows that women are not averse to news. Additionally, news is
also a B2B medium for advertisers who use the media vehicle to reach trade partners like
retailers, distributors etc.
Few journalists in their interviews, also pointed out that by taking different editorial lines, or
by selecting differentiated news stories the news channels also unconsciously or consciously
hope to appeal to their respective target audience who likes to consume such content.
Differentiation offers several advantages against the competition (Porter 2004/1980). In a

crowded News market, it can possibly be of relevance, where it can be successful in bringing
the loyalty of the viewer, and this can have its own set of benefits. News by nature is based
on event, though it is not just an event, rather it is a report, description, narration of the event.
(Kumar, 2021; Fowler, 1991 as cited in Kumar, 2021). However, its event nature creates
challenges of content differentiation and journalists struggle to bring that difference.
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Journalists cannot imagine news like fiction content. However, what they can do is select the
stories and present them, And, this is what they are doing. They are resorting to several
means from selection, packaging, presentation of the news content to analyzing the past
ratings, in an environment influenced by advertising led revenue.
It was also found that certain advertisers have a preference towards particular anchors and
their news bulletins, and the secondary studies also say that audiences have preferences for
news anchors (Sengupta and Singh, 2020). This gives the scope to the news channels to
leverage their popularity.
From the perspective of media economics content is a product (Albarran, 2013; Albarran,
2010) and that makes news a product too. News has been seen to possess the information
good’s characteristics (Hamilton, 2006) and Hamilton also says that there is a pressure on the
journalists to become a part of the news products (Hamilton, 2006). News anchors can be
seen as part of the product, and ingredients to the larger brand of news channels. They can be
branded to help the news channels stand out in the crowded market. Many news channels
already promote their key faces on social media, hoardings, on television etc. Panwar and
Khan (2019) suggest that news anchors by acting as ingredient brands to news channels can
bring differentiation in face of competition.
The news anchor branding can benefit the host brand that is the news channels. A news
anchor in terms of appearance is naturally different from other, but additionally some news
shows associated with them also subtly differ from each other especially in terms of format
and certain elements of the show. However, more studies are needed to find the association
between news anchors and news shows they present to understand their relationship with the
news channels and their popularity.
Studies abroad suggest that in an environment of multiple media outlets and audience
fragmentation grabbing the audiences only with product qualities has been found difficult
(Olmsted and Cha (2008). “The proliferation of media outlets and fragmentation of audiences
have made it more difficult to attract audiences solely on the basis of product attributes. In
other words, these firms also have to contemplate ways of establishing distinctive and
meaningful brand images in the minds of news audiences,” say Olmsted and Cha (2008)
Thus, comes the role of branding. Studies and scholars also suggest that ingredient branding
encourages associations that are favourable to the host brand. (Kotler and Pfortsch 2010,
Vaidyanathan and Aggarwal, 2000, Tiwari, 2012, Desai and Keller, 2002). Additionally, the
benefits of branding in media space or otherwise, have also been listed down by several
scholars before (Kotler et al; 2009; Olmsted and Cha, 2007). Olmsted and Cha (2007) state
that, “Distinctive and meaningful “news brand images” are becoming more critical in the race
of ratings supremacy in this media market”.
The Hindi News Channels are also found to be promoting their news anchors on social
media, television and other platforms, which is possibly leading to leveraging their popularity
and creating that differentiation. Through various branding strategies especially ingredient
branding the news anchors can possibly influence the audiences and advertisers, as both of
them are seen to have a preference for certain anchors. However, ingredient branding
180
exercises should be done with caution as suggested by many scholars (Panwar and Khan,
2019, Kotler and Pfortsch 2010, Vaidyanathan and Aggarwal 2000). The scholars do suggest
the downside, the ingredient brand’s brand value exceeding the host brand or the lack of
control of host on the brand of the ingredient. The researcher suggests further studies be done
on the possible downside of using ingredient branding of news anchors with news channels as
host brands.
The news anchor shows, experts point out, involve lesser costs. In a scenario where potent
revenue sources of the news channels are limited, these shows can turn out to be cost
effective. As noted through the images and description of a few of these shows, these news
shows stand to be subtly differentiated in terms of their formats with a few of them also
introducing certain differentiated elements. For instance, Republic Bharat airs Poochta Hai
Bharat, a debate show, mostly presented by Aishwarya Kapoor and Arnab Goswami. In
termsof format, this differs from DNA aired on Zee News which is mostly presented by
Sudhir Chaudhary. DNA is primarily concerned with presenting news stories and their
“analysis”.Additionally, news shows like Desh Ki Behas on News Nation mostly presented
by Deepak Chaurasia and India Chahta Hai on ABP News mostly hosted by Sumit Awasthi
have elements of audience integration in the show, where topics are selected based on the
audiencechoices.
In case of Non -Free Commercial Time Advertising, it was found that though Free
Commercial Time Advertising is the preferred form of advertising by the advertisers. But
Non- Free Commercial Time Advertising is opted by certain advertisers in absence of TVC
and also during big events like elections etc. So, NFCT sponsorship is shown along with
content and not during the break. This gets them greater visibility. However, NFCT
advertising influences the presentation of the content making it look further cluttered.
Limitations of the Study
This study is limited to private news channels with special focus on Hindi mainstream news
channels. The study may or may not also apply to the business news channels, English
language channel, regional channels. The study also doesn’t take into account the public
service broadcaster and its revenue models and any covert practices like paid news.
The researcher found a general hesitation in the respondents to participate in the research
owing to professional reasons and some agreed to be quoted only on the limited aspects. As a
result, complying with the ethics of research, all the respondents could not be quoted but their
responses have been presented in an aggregated manner.
During the research Corona virus pandemic took over the nation and in October 2020 BARC
ratings of news channels were suspended. Findings specifically related to these
developments, through primary or secondary sources, have been separately mentioned by the
researcher. However other recent data from the secondary research may have been influenced
by effects of Pandemic. The outbreak of Corona virus pandemic also made it difficult for the
researcher to carry her research work, especially finding appointments with the respondents.
181
The research also doesn’t go into the intricate details of the content, which can be done
through an extensive content analysis. Due to technical limitations the researcher has used
theofficial YouTube channels of the news channels to collect images and make notes. She has
also given adequate explanation behind it, where she has supplemented it with her
observations during her tenure in news channels, confirmation from the journalists she
interviewed, as well as by personally verifying the episodes with images.
However, she could not find one YouTube link of an episode of one news show and used
thesame methodology to generate a date and month for another episode for the collection of
images and has also supplemented it with the images of an episode being aired on the
television. She did this as the objective was not to compare any of the episodes but only to
verify and substantiate the responses of the journalists. Also, she couldn’t find a segment
she was looking for in one of the episodes of DNA as the episode appeared to be incomplete
or the segment may not have been aired at all that day. But in the other episodes she found
that segment.
Scope of Further Research
While the researcher has focused on Free Commercial Time Advertising and Non -free
Commercial Time Advertising, there is a scope to explore branded content and content
integrations. Further studies can be conducted on the branded content as a source of revenue
not just in Television news but on digital platforms too, especially fiction series.
There is also a further scope to do a detailed content analysis of the anchor driven shows on a
wider sample with inclusion of more anchors, to understand the content better and especially
explore the differentiations brought in the content. The content analysis can be done not just
on the basis of content but also the style, gestures and presentation of the news anchors.
Additionally, a study can be undertaken on news anchors and news channels on various
branding models, especially ingredient branding with special focus on the demerits. The
media and marketing scholars may also explore in detail the associations between news
anchor’s personal brand and the news show, as well as their relation to the recall and
popularity with the news channels.
The revenue and content dynamics of regional channels, English news channels, business
channels and also that of public service broadcaster can be subjects of extensive research in
future. Additionally, further extensive studies can be taken up on news anchor shows and
their preferences with advertisers based on both ratings and perception. Also, subscription
revenue model and its limitations on news channels in India can be explored in detail.
While the researcher has brought forward some findings of the influence of pandemic on the
news channels, an in-depth study of the corona virus pandemic on the revenue models and
content of news channels may be undertaken. Further research can be taken up on the
ownership patterns of news channels and its influence on content can be traced.
182
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184
ANNEXURE 1: MARKETING DOMAIN EXPERTS: MALE AUDIENCES/MALE FEMALE BOTH
MALE AUDIENCES MALE AUDIENCES AND MALE AND FOR BOTH MALE AND
FEMALE AUDIENCES BOTH FEMALE AUDIENCES
Advertisers targeting at male skewed audiences Advertisers wanting to primarily reach out to It can be used to reach both male
generally come to news channels.(Also cited it for male audiences opt for News Channels. But in and female audiences.
Hindi News Channel) certain cases if one wants to target male and
female both kind of audiences then news channels
can be useful too (Also cited it for Hindi News
Channel)
A Lot of men watch news channels. And that is one So if you have a TG which is both males and
big reason so therefore all the brands which are females or primarily men then news makes a
trying to speak to males will likely to be on news lot of sense because news has affinity towards
channels. (Also cited it for Hindi News Channel) that type of audience(Also cited it for Hindi
News Channels)
News genres work very well for male as an audience Male target audience is high in news channels
(Also cited it for Hindi News Channel) .Female TG is more effective on non prime
timings which is in afternoon like Saas bahu
show (Also cited it for Hindi News Channels)
Makes the campaign visible to the male audience If you want to advertise for a product that has
(Also cited it for Hindi News Channel) viewership in both male and female audiences
and specifically men then it is advisable to
advertise on a news channel along with other
channels like movies, sports and GEC.(Also
cited it for Hindi News Channels)
Brands who are more male centric in the sense want Reach Male TG Primarily but also consumed
to target Male audiences advertise on the news by both males and females, though the
channels (Also cited it for Hindi News Channel) contribution of females is low. So both can be
reached (Also cited it for Hindi News
Channels)
There is also a target audience which is male skewed
that lead an advertiser to opt for a News channel
ANNEXURE 1: MARKETING DOMAIN EXPERTS: MALE AUDIENCES/MALE FEMALE BOTH
(Also cited it for Hindi News Channels)

News is primarily taken to reach out the male
audience
Reach Men TG(Also cited it for Hindi News
Channels)
Male TG Affinity of News Channels is one of the
factors to choose them(Also cited it for Hindi News
Channels)
Often when the advertiser wants to reach Male TG,
news channels are taken(Also cited it for Hindi
News Channels)
Male TG which advertiser wants to reach through
News Channels
To target male audience
Male Viewership of News Channels is one of the
factors (Also cited it for Hindi News Channels)
ANNEXURE 2: MARKETING DOMAIN EXPERTS: LOW AD
RATES
MARKETING DOMAIN EXPERTS: LOW AD RATES

News is less expensive genre if you compare it with other genres like movies or GEC. The
ad rates of News Channels are much lower (Also cited it for Hindi News Channels)
News channels are also efficiently priced. Unlike GECs, the entry rates of the news
channels are low (Also cited it for Hindi News Channels)
Rate of News Channels are lower than many other genres (Also cited it for Hindi News
Channels)
When you want to build on frequency in a media plan, you need low-cost and cost effective
genres wherein you could at a lesser money get more number of spots. News as a genre
comes in handy and it works very well for male as an audience (Also cited it for Hindi
News Channels)
It (News Channels) is a low entry cost genre ( The rates to start advertising in News
Channels are low) Also cited it for Hindi News Channels)
Cost effectiveness of news channels. One can get more spots at low price (Also cited it for
Hindi News Channels)
The low ad rates of news channels often lead an advertiser choose a News Channel (Also
Ad rates are lower of news channels. Cost Effective. (Also cited it for Hindi News
Channels)
News Channels are definitely cheaper in comparison to GEC(the ad rates are low) (Also
Ad rates (of News Channels) are reasonably low (Also cited it for Hindi News Channels)
Low cost (ad rates) help the advertiser to sustain the campaign (Also cited it for Hindi
News Channels)
Low ad rates are a major factor in choosing a news channel As with news the other
objective is to build frequency (Also cited it for Hindi News Channels)
In Frequency channels like news you need higher number of slots at lesser cost and the ad
rates of news channels are lower than other genres like GECs. Hindi news channels also
give you a decent amount of viewership at a relatively lower cost than GECs as the ad rates
are much lower (Also cited it for Hindi News Channels)
The entry rate of the news channels is very low so this makes them cost effective (Also
GEC is expensive and entry rate on a news channel is low (Also cited it for Hindi News
Channels)
News Channel’s Ad rates are lower than GEC (Also cited it for Hindi News Channels)
ANNEXURE 3: MARKETING DOMAIN EXPERTS: FREQUENCY
MARKETING DOMAIN EXPERTS: FREQUENCY
News channels are primarily frequency channels (Also cited it for Hindi News Channels)
They (News Channels)are frequency builders (they are used to build frequency) (Also cited it for
Hindi News Channels)
News Channels give frequency, at lowest Effective Rate (Also cited it for Hindi News Channels)
News Channels are Used as Frequency Channels(Also cited it for Hindi News Channels)
News (channels) give good frequency (Also cited it for Hindi News Channels)
News (channels) act as Frequency Builders (Also cited it for Hindi News Channels)
Maximisation of frequency (Also cited it for Hindi News Channels)

Frequency is one of the factors(Also cited it for Hindi News Channels)
News channels helps build frequency
News Channels are used as frequency channels mostly(Also cited it for Hindi News Channels)
News channels are used as frequency builder channel(Also cited it for Hindi News Channels)
News genre is considered as frequency builder

News channels are taken as frequency channels (Also cited it for Hindi News Channels)
News are frequency builders (Also cited it for Hindi News Channels)
News used to build frequency (Also cited it for Hindi News Channels)
They are considered frequency builders
News is used for frequency (Also cited it for Hindi News Channels)
ANNEXURE 4: MARKETING DOMAIN EXPERTS: TRADE
PARTNERS
ANNEXURE 4:TRADE PARTNERS
Brands want to reach the retailers, distributors
For many advertisers news channels work well as lot of their trade partners, mostly male are on
news channels like distributors, stockists, shop keepers etc
Makes the ad campaign visible to the traders and distributors
It also helps them to push the trade. So advertisers also reach the traders and distributors through
news
Address the trade partners
To target trader Community, For Dealer & Recommendation Feedback
Reach Traders, Trade partners
For Trade Partners
To give certain trade push (reach traders) or sales push, news channels are often added to the
media plan.
For Traders and distributors (to reach them)
ANNEXURE 5: MARKETING DOMAIN EXPERTS: HSM SHARE
ANNEXURE 5 MARKETING DOMAIN EXPERTS HINDI SPEAKING MARKET SHARE OF A

CHANNEL AND HINDI SPEAKING AUDIENCE VIEWERSHIP
Channel Share in HSM (Hindi Speaking Market)

HSM (Hindi Speaking Market)share in case of Hindi News Channel
HSM (Hindi Speaking Market) share in cases of Hindi News Channel
HSM (Hindi Speaking Market)share for instance for Hindi News channel
Channel Share in the HSM market (Hindi Speaking Market)
Channel Share in the HSM (Hindi Speaking Market)
Channel Share of HSM (Hindi Speaking Market) in case of Hindi News Channels
ANNEXURE 6: MARKETING DOMAIN EXPERTS:CHANNEL SHARE & TG
CHANNEL SHARE OF VIEWERSHIP TG OF THE ADVERTISER AND RELEVANT

AUDIENCE OF THE ADVERTISER
Channel Share in the specific market (where the advertiser wants to Relevant TG to the brand like NCCS A & B etc (Also cited
advertise)’(also for Hindi News Channels) in the context of Hindi News Channels)
Channel Share of viewership in market, the advertiser is targeting TG affinity matters(Also cited in the context of Hindi News
Channels)
News channel share of viewership TG affinity (Also cited in the context of Hindi News
Channels)’
Channel Share of Viewership’ (also for Hindi News Channels Reach TG of the advertiser (for instance Urban Audience or
Rural Audience)
Channel Share in the desired market HSM or South, in the desired markets TG Affinity ( News Channels) Affinity of Advertiser’s TG
basis Universe (in the context of Hindi News Channels)
Channel Share of Viewership in the particular market
Channel Share in the market of the advertiser's TG, for instance for Hindi
News Channels it can be HSM
ANNEXURE 7: MARKETING DOMAIN EXPERTS: PERCEPTION & BRAND PARAMETERS
PERCEPTION ABOUT THE CHANNEL BRAND PARAMETERS

Perception about the channel Perception about the news channel (in the audience) should
suit the brand parameters. The brand parameters are the
parameters like the TG profile of the brand, the TG’s
consumer behaviour, psychographic factors related to the
TG, communication of the brand , colour of the brand ,
brand endorsers etc
Perception about the channel Some brands want to keep their brand image in mind while
associating with a channel
Perception about the news channel The brand wants to ensure that perception about the channel
suits its brand image
Perception of the news channel in the audience and advertiser Few Brands want to associate with a channel which fits its
brand image.
General perception of the channel in the mind of the brands' consumers/
potential consumers or the relevant audiences (brand TG)
Because of the perception created by the news channels owing to its factors like
content and anchors, some brands may want to or don’t want to associate with or
advertise in some news channels
ANNEXURE 8: MARKETING DOMAIN EXPERTS: CONTENT
CONTENT OF THE NEWS CHANNELS

Apart from the news, the news presenters also have an influence(on the perception) and pull factor
News presenters influence the popularity and perception about the content
They (advertisers) tend to go with a channel that has some credibility with the audiences. And that
credibility is often created by the content and the anchors
success of anchor shows

anchor’s credibility and popularity
content quality
owing to its factors like content and anchors, some brands may want to or don’t want to associate
with or advertise in some news channels
There are some advertisers who refrain from certain news channels despite the numbers as they
have reservations for the content. . So content indeed is an important factor in choosing a news
channels
news content, anchor, content like business, regional or regular
ANNEXURE 9 MARKETINING DOMAIN EXPERTS: RATINGS
VS PERCEPTION
Ratings Vs Perception
Ratings for Hindi, Perception for English
Mostly Ratings for Hindi- and sometimes Perception for Hindi News Channels
Both are an amalgamation of perception and ratings, English would skew a tad more on perception
Majorly Rating over Perception for both English and Hindi
First comes the channel performance (ratings, share, reach etc) and then perception for both English
and Hindi News Channel
Most of the time Ratings matter. Sometime Client’s perception matters for both English and Hindi
News Channel.
Hindi News Channel should be chosen on Channel Share and English News Channels chosen on the
basis of affinity
In Hindi, ratings do matter Still rates become a key factor in deciding.
Mostly Ratings Sometimes Perception for Hindi News channels
Ratings over Perception for Hindi
Mostly Ratings over Perception for Hindi
Perception is primary for advertiser for Hindi News Channels
Ratings and then the rates come in for both Hindi and English News Channels
Perception comes first for English Channel. For Hindi it is ratings and rates that influence the
selection of the Hindi News Channel
Depends from advertiser to advertiser Some are ratings driven, Some are perception driven
Varies as per the advertiser. Mostly advertiser considers ratings but also depends on the content.
ANNEXURE 10: MARKETING DOMAIN EXPERT: ROLE OF RATINGS
IMPORTANT QUANTIFIABILITY RATES RATINGS CHANNEL AVAILABILITY FAVOURABLE HELPS TO RATINGS

ROLE GIVES SHARE OF PERCEPTION CHOOSE IN A OF TOP
ROI ALONG INVENTORY HELPS CLUTTERED CHANNELS
WITH ALONG WITH RATINGS ENVIRONMEN ARE
RATINGS RATINGS T CHECKED
AND THEN
RATE
BECOMES
THE
DECIDING
FACTOR.
For Hindi Ratings are important. An advertiser Is Rating will Advertisers Suppose there Rating leading to Rating of top
News The evaluation is mainly looks quantifiable. evaluate for mainly look at are two channels efficiency is channels is
Channels based on the ratings. at ratings, Hence helps high ratings, rate and with marginal extremely checked and
Ratings Even in the TAM era rate and the in analysing viewership the availability of difference in significant in then rate
Matters More this used to happen. In availability the ROI, as rest channel the inventory and ratings. But one making choices in becomes the
and hence case of Hindi news of the the share data that is how they with better a cluttered deciding
plays a big role channels, ratings inventory advertiser is and cost decide to be on a perception with environment factor.
matter all the more, as and that is putting effective Hindi news even though with
it is (mostly) a how they money after deal will channel. just marginally
quantitative analysis. decide to be all. decide how higher ratings
on a Hindi we can often charges
news consider the more.
channel. channels
into plan.
Advertisers It is very much Rating of top It is a very Rating plays a

mainly look at important, as the channels are important very important role
ratings, rate industry is data driven checked and factor while selecting
and the and to back the then rate because Hindi news
availability of channel selection a becomes the client channel as the
the inventory planner must have deciding always genre is highly
and that is how concrete data inputs factor. looks for cluttered
they decide to (ratings are quantative ROI. We
be on a Hindi data) can't take
news channel. any channel
which is not
working for
us. Hence,
TVR is very
important
factor.
Rating of top Ratings is the only Rating will That

channels are quantifiable factor to evaluate for (ratings)
checked and measure the high plays an
then rate performance of a news viewership important
becomes the channel rest channel role which
deciding share data justifies the
factor. and cost rate or
effective deal amount of
will decide money to be
how we can considered
consider the for
channels into particular
plan. channel
Is quantifiable. Hence Ratings first

Very high role helps in analysing the and then the
(of ratings in ROI, as the advertiser rates
selection of a is putting money after influence the
Hindi News all. selection of
channel Hindi News
Channel
Ratings are the It is quantifiable Not Just

only measure to judge a news, the
quantifiable channel. entire
parameter in ecosystem is
the industry driven by
and a standard ratings and
in measuring cost
the strength of effectiveness.
the channel in
the genre.
Ratings are Perception depends Ratings and

important. The from person to person. rate both
evaluation is Ratings are play a
based on the quantifiable. They significant
ratings. Even evaluate the channel role in the
in the TAM era quantitatively. choice of a
this used to Hindi News
happen. In case Channel
of Hindi news
channels,
ratings matter
all the more, as
it is a (mostly)
a quantitative
analysis.
Rating leading
to efficiency is
extremely
significant in
making
choices in a
cluttered
environment
Rating will
evaluate for
high
viewership rest
channel share
data and cost
effective deal
will decide
how we can
consider the
channels into
plan.
Rating plays a
very important
role while
selecting Hindi
news channel
as the genre is
highly
cluttered.
Ratings can
help decide the
percentage of
the target
audience
which can be
possibly
reached within
the universe.
Higher ratings
also indicate
higher index of
the choice of
the people and
popularity of
the content1
It is Ratings
and then
perception for
Hindi news
channels as
factors for their
selection,
hence ratings
do play an
important role.
Significant
role. Some top
Hindi News
Channels are
prime
beneficiaries
who charge a
higher rate
It is very much
important, as
the industry is
data driven and
to back the
channel
selection a
planner must
have concrete
data inputs.
(ratings are
quntative data)
Rating plays a
vital role as is
the basic
hygiene level
for considering
a channel.
It is quite
important as
Hindi News
reach is far
higher than
English news
Ratings first
and then the
rates influence
the selection of
Hindi News
Channel
Not just news,
the entire
ecosystem is
driven by
ratings and
cost
effectiveness.
Ratings is the
only
quantifiable
factor to
measure the
performance of
a news channel
Ratings and
rate both play a
significant role
in the choice of
a Hindi News
Channel”
Significant
role. Is
quantifiable.
Hence helps in
analysing the
ROI, as the
advertiser is
putting money
after all.
It is
quantifiable
measure to
judge a
channel.
Perception
depends from
person to
person. Ratings
are
quantifiable .
They evaluate
the channel
quantitatively.
It is a very
important
factor because
client always
looks for ROI.
We can't take
any channel
which is not
working for us.
Hence, TVR is
very important
factor.
Important
factor as it
leads to deal
construct &
plan evaluation
That plays an
important role
which justifies
the rate or
amount of
money to be
considered for
particular
channel
ANNEXURE 11: MARKETING DOMAIN EXPERTS: ROLE OF CONTENT
INSIGNIFICANT ROLE CONTENT IS RELATED TO CONTENT IS IMPORTANT

RATINGS
Insignificant role Content/programming drives the imagery of Content is also very important factor. If the content is
the channel, which eventually drives ratings. good then people will watch the news channel. Who is
hosting show also decides the content popularity and
perception. For example the Rajat Sharma show.
Almost no role. If the content is strong than news channel Content is important when it comes to brand fit & it
viewership will automatically will be high. majorly depends on the client brief because now days the
content of all news channels are almost same. Anchors,
Presentation & feel of the channel also matters along with
content.
Negligible Content plays an important role in the Content drives Hindi news channels. The lead anchors
selection and generally goes hand in hand play an important role. Purely news is event based and
with the ratings, a good or likable content is un-predictable. The entire news genre is something that
likely to be consumed by more and more runs on breaking news, how nicely one portrays,
number of people, in turn also increasing the communicates, and present the entire piece of news
likelihood of these people consuming the matters
entire content i.e. higher rating with higher
attention and likely to remember or recall
the content, ads and channel on which they
saw it.
Hardly (any role) Content is important. It leads to stickiness.
Many advertisers are keeping away from toxic content.
Content becomes increasingly significant while doing
sponsorship of a news channel.
HARDLY ANY ROLE EXCEPT FEW POPULAR CONTENT IS SOME ADVERTISERS CONTENT BUILDS
ANCHORS/SHOWS COSTLY HAVE BECOME PERCEPTION, RATINGS AND
PARTICULAR IN COST MORE IMPORTANT
RECENT TIMES
Absolutely irrelevant in case of news Popular content definitely have Generally no role content of a channel builds the
channels as hardly any content specific additional cost involved. It's However recently around the perception and stickiness while in
buy (happens), except few shows. important but to get presence October 2020, few current scenario rate/ cost is more
you have to pay advertisers have chosen to important to justify the monies
stay away from some news spent due to competitive nature of
channels who broadcast business
“toxic content”
Rarely, content plays a role in channel

selection of Hindi News Channel for
advertising. But having said that some
advertisers have preference for specific
anchors. Also some advertisers are
perception driven.
Hardly any role but
The anchors can be a factor for the brands
to advertise maybe in a particular news
channel
Also if a renowned anchor is not supported
by good rating then media planner may
consider their show on audience
perception basis but rating along with star
anchor is always better.
Not so much role as News channels are

event based and content is whatever the
news of the day is. Primarily on news
channels the 9 pm shows (primetime) or
the big anchors often influence the
advertisers.
DEPENDS FROM PLAYS A PARTIAL ROLE PRIMARY FACTOR IS RATINGS NTO 2.0 INFLUENCE
CLIENT TO CLIENT
Depends from client to Plays a partial role Ratings as primary driver in choosing Today, BARC is measuring and accessing
client. ( Some may have a Hindi News Channel more markets in the NWE belt. There's
reservations on content, more access to electricity hence more TV
some may not) sets. NTO 2.0 could restrict channels
reach and channel bouquet size/
household. It is imperative for the media
professional to analyse channels across all
is these parameters
ANNEXURE 12 MARKETING DOMAIN EXPERTS RATINGS VS CONTENT
RATINGS RATINGS AND CONTENT ARE INTERRELATED RATINGS & NEEDS TO BE A
CONTENT BOTH BALANCE IN THE TWO-
ARE PRIMARY CONSIDERATION
IMPORTANT WILL LEAN TO RATINGS
Rating of the channel matters more If the content is good than news channel rating will be Both are important There needs to be balance between
for Hindi News Channel automatically go up. the two - primary consideration will
lean to Ratings
Ratings for Hindi News Channel Both Ratings and Content go hand in hand. Good quality content
leads to higher number of people consuming the content leading
to higher Rating i.e. helping us understand or judge which
programme or content is viewed most giving us an index of the
choice of the people and also the popularity of the channel.
Ratings matter more for Hindi Channel performance (Ratings) is an important aspect. But yes,
News Channel selection by channel performance is also a function of content
advertiser
Rating Content and ratings are interrelated
Rating
Rating
Rating
Rating
Ratings
As it is quantifiable
Ratings
Ratings
Ratings
Rating
Rating is more important
ANNEXURE 12 MARKETING DOMAIN EXPERTS RATINGS VS CONTENT
Advertiser Requirements along with Ratings & Content cannot be Very thin difference, but ratings more Depends on advertiser's
Ratings looked in isolation important objective and campaign plan
Ratings and Advertiser's requirements Ratings & Content cannot be Both of them have a very thin line of difference. Depends on the advertiser’s
for Hindi News Channels are important looked in isolation But ratings are of high importance while objective and the campaign theme
choosing a Hindi News channel.
ANNEXURE 13: MARKETING DOMAIN EXPERTS: FORMATS OF PREFERENCE
ANCHOR DRIVEN SHOWS NO OR RARELY ANCHOR DRIVEN FINE WITH FORMATS AS LONG AS THERE
FOLLOWED BY ARE RATINGS
DEBATES
Hardly Anchor Driven followed by Yeah, so advertisers are fine with the formats as
Anchor driven shows debates long as the ratings are there.
Advertisers prefer anchor No

shows.
Anchor Driven followed by No, there is no such
debates selection criteria
Prime time shows are usually Rarely

anchor driven and are preferred
Anchor matters a lot when it No

comes to content
Some advertisers have a Usually no

preference for anchors and their
shows.
Rarely. They go more for

time bands.
Nothing as specific
No
No
No
No
No
HARDLY FEW SHOWS ADVERTISERS GO BY TIME BANDS PREFERENCE ADVERTISERS STAY AWAY FROM
FOR SHOWS THAT TAKE EXTREME STANDS
FLAGSHIP
SHOWS
Hardly few shows like afternoon Advertisers generally go for time bands Yes, Yes, Some brands want to stay away from
masala mix for female viewers, Advertisers shows/anchors who take extreme political
or prime time 8 / 9 / 10 pm have a stands.
shows on some channels. preference for
However, choosing specific their flagship
shows attract huge premium, shows
many stay away from specific
buy.
Rarely, but some advertisers Rarely. They go more for time bands.
have preference for specific
anchors
Hindi News channels are hardly No, Mostly in News Channels advertisers buy
chosen basis content, in some on the basis of time bands. Spot buys are very
cases its selected basis anchor rare as if bought separately they would be
like Arnab. expensive.
ANNEXURE 14: MARKETING DOMAIN EXPERTS: ROLE OF ANCHORS
RARELY PLAY A ROLE SOME ANCHOR ANCHOR SHOWS ARE A ANCHORS CREATE PERCEPTION
DRIVEN SHOWS ARE REASON FOR THE
BROUGHT ADVERTISER TO CHOOSE A
SEPARATELY CHANNEL/SOME
ADVERTISERS PREFER
ANCHOR DRIVEN SHOWS
Not so much. They (Advertisers) They are one of the reasons The anchors matter too. Big faces often add
for the advertisers to queue- credibility and this creates favourable
negotiate to run spots
perception.
in specific (anchor) up for a channel.
shows as part of the
deal.
Rarely advertisers would go for a specific Marque shows that are The role anchor in pulling an The ratings he/she (anchor) generates and the
anchors as they for time bands led by anchors are advertisement for a show is quiet perception he/she creates becomes a factor for
bought separately by important. Established anchor the advertiser to choose a news channel
some advertisers give face to the news channel.
And some advertisers prefer
these shows.
No, advertisers generally opt for time The anchors can be a factor for Anchor is important as he/she drives ratings
bands the brands to advertise in a and perception of a news channel.
particular news channel
No , not really because they are bought Some advertisers have

on RODP preference for anchor shows
FEW ANCHORS INFLUENCE ADVERTISERS IMPORTANT FOR CONTENT CONNECT WITH THE AUDIENCE
INTEGRATIONS/SPONSORSHIP
. Rajat Sharma’s Aaj Ki Baat, DNA by Sudhir Chaudhari. While doing content Good anchors have a strong connect with the
Anchors like these definitely drive the advertisers to advertise on integrations they are extremely audience that’s why they are important for pulling
their channels. advertisement.
important. Some brands don’t
want to sponsor in
programmes/anchors who take
extreme stands in politics.
Yes anchors matter to some extent, like I said. But there are very
few anchors. Like Arnab is one
Some brands would want to associate with the key anchor shows,
as those would be the ones which are mostly promoted in the
channel
If the anchor is old (having years of experience and has been present on
screen for long) then they will attract advertisers
Yes famous names like Rajat Sharma, Sudhir Chaudhary, Arnab

Goswami, Ravish Kumar etc. Brands like to associate with such
names.
Established anchor give face to the news channel. And some
advertisers prefer these shows.
Some advertisers do, go for prime time anchors.

Few advertisers look to have their presence during shows of
(anchors like )Arnab Goswami, Rajat Sharma etc.
A few advertisers have a preference for a few anchors- Primarily
Rajdeep, Arnab, Sudhir Chaudhary
Anchor's role is very important which is quite visible from the fact &
demand of Arnab's show and Rajat Sharma's show. Yes advertisers
are looking for these types of anchors shows.
ANNEXURE 15 JOURNALISTS RESPONSES HOW IS NEWS SELECTED
SOCIAL MEDIA TRENDS BASIS OF VISUALS RATINGS EDITORIAL STAND AND

DECISIONS
Social media is a big factor. For example Another factor is powerful It is checked which news which In the editorial meetings,
Baba Ka Dhaba. It was the story of an old visuals along with news was shown has gotten good decisions are taken and which
man running a dhaba that became viral and value like if an area has ratings It is based on the idea news stories to be shown, editorial
was picked up by many channels. caught fire; the visuals are that this is what our viewers stand and news angles are decided
likely to be good. watch and we hence have to
show him that.
Twitter, YouTube, Facebook they have strong visuals TRP any given day would be an Editorial stand plays a big role
become very important. Events that start important factor. It is seen
trending also often get selected. People in generally which topics have
newsrooms dedicatedly keep an eye on done well in the past
these trends
Many times we pick up news from Social Visually strong stories Ratings are kept in mind. They Decide and select content on the
Media, if something is trending we try to are analyzed to see which news basis of editorial decisions
find that story and show it. topics are giving ratings and
selection is done in future on
that basis
Social media platforms especially Twitter Visually driven stories like Ratings are a parameter. Past News events are selected on the
is a big source of news. Often news itself accidents, fire, flood etc rating trends are seen that gives basis of editorial stands.
is broken there and as a result newsroom an idea whether such news is
runs to show it. seen or not
Social media also plays a vital role in And of course the ratings also
deciding a show and its stories. What is matter. Ratings are analyzed and
trending in social media, the latest news in seen which topics did well and
the social media are seen and a thorough content is created around them
research is done for background and
relevance.
Selection is also based on social media at Ratings. They give an idea about
times, events getting attention on social what works and what not
media are considered
The trends of the Social Media are biggest Ratings trends matter especially
source of information today for news for shows
channels. It is often thought that
whatever is trending is big news, wahi
badi khabar hai and those news stories get
selected. But we forget that the Social
Media has a very small audience. Its
audience is dependent on the internet
connectivity and the technical know how
to use that medium Twitter for example is
just a medium, we can’t decide our things
(content decisions) based only on Twitter.
Social Media can give cue, though.
Social media is also is an important factor. Ratings play an important role as
It is seen which events etc are getting it is a source of consumer
popular there. feedback for the editorial team.
Viral videos or trending hash tags on If a similar topic or event is the
social media are seen and considered for past has given ratings, then it is
news bulletins and shows. likely to be picked up.
TIME TARGET BIG EVENTS HOW FAST CONNECTS SOME UTILITY INTERESTING AROUSE
BANDS AUDIENCE YOU CAN PUT WITH PEOPLE TO THE VIEWER TO PUBLIC CURIOSITY
UP THE NEWS
It is decided Target audience of the Big events like How fast you can Connects with Some utility to the Interesting to Arouse Curiosity
according to time band or the elections are a put up the news People viewer public
slots. channel big factor, for
such things
planning is done
well ahead
Slot matters – Selecting news as per Major events like

news is Target audience of the budget or
decided as per channel elections, where
the slots. For news strategy,
instance for planning or even
prime time slot special shows are
important decided before
events of the
day are picked
up, for
afternoon slot
entertainment
television
shows can be
picked up
PUBLIC NEWS STORY FROM NEWS THAT PUBLIC SOME VALUE TO THE NEWS WORTHINESS
AWARENESS THE CHANNEL PEOPLE INTEREST SOCIETY
REPORTER BENEFIT
FROM
Public Stories from the reporter Do people Public Interest Some Value to the society News Worthiness
Awareness benefit
ANNEXURE 16: JOURNALITS RESPONSES: WAYS TO ENSURE RATINGS
SELECTING , REPORTING, PRESENTATION OF NEWS RATINGS ANALYSIS

PACKAGING & PRESENTATION
Everything, from selecting, With content how you present news that is also very important. For example take Past rating analysis (analysis of
reporting, packaging to the example of Budget or elections. The Hindi News channels focus so much on ratings of news shown
presentation is done to get it. There are high end graphics like 3 D graphics etc, then the sets, lighting would previously, or in the recent past
ratings. be extraordinary, even at times there are different costumes of the anchors. The like a week before ) is also
news events are same and they are openly available on common news feeds. But done
it is the presentation that sets the content apart.
Rating trends are also
How the news is packaged matters and elements like graphics, editing special considered
effects, scripting are used to get ratings
You have to decide on the uniqueness about the news bulletins and highlight the Ratings matter a lot. They are
uniqueness of it. The uniqueness can be in the form of presentation, like visual analysed.. The news which gets
treatment, presentation with graphics etc good numbers is used as a
benchmark
Because you compare and

News presented should be visually attractive and graphically strong. The media, analyse ratings and have an
in recent years has become more demanding. So, there is a need to have good idea that news that you show if
editing work, script should be catchy and should be visually appealing. it is performing or not. Through
ratings you know that the past
shows did not work well. It is a
kind of a feedback and you
know if there’s a scope of
improvement.
Presentation and packaging are also important factors for ensuring good ratings Ratings definitely counts. You
for a channel. From scripting to graphical elements, editing effects, two windows, see and analyse the numbers to
sets all are considered to score ratings. get a clear picture of the
performance of stories run on a
particular day, the slots timings,
and viewership. Depending on
this, the channel decides which
news got the highest rating and
second highest rating and then
you can repeat, especially on
weekend
Sripting is like a frame . Packaging is very important. The more vibrant it is, Most channels want to have
people will watch it more. The more interesting the edit and effects, better it high numbers and they want to
becomes repeat it again. The numbers are
examined minutely to give an
idea of the performance. It is
also a feedback.
News is packaged well to get ratings. A variety of production elements are used. Past rating analysis works for
Scripting is also important. Graphics is a apart from visuals also become news shows as an important
important. factor for deciding whether the
same show should be repeated,
or to see the trends, to see
which topics have worked for
the channel
Interesting graphics, statistics, voice overs are used Week over week ratings are
analysed to see which news
events shown did well
STRONG VISUALS THOROUGH RESEARCH SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCE
Basically, if there are Further content is decided through lot Another practice is ofcourse with the help of social media. News
interesting visual narrating a of research and analysis. If you get events for social media are picked especially for debate shows as
story then they tend to be some news and you will study the you know that the topic is already getting talked about . There is
shown as they have chances to case, profiling and history. opinion getting formed. So people would be interested in it.
get ratings.The visual that
people will want to watch
becomes your priority. For
example, there is a fire, flood
etc.
Then research becomes important as Social media is also an important factor in deciding content ,
you want to bring out different facts Because social media trends (what's trending on social media)
and news angles. indicates what the. society is wanting to see or is interested in. So it
is likely to show in ratings too. Like this girl, Dananeer
Mobeen,Pawri ho rahi girl.This girl was viral all over and the news
channels also showed her story.
There is a research team in almost There is little doubt that social media trends are reflected in
every news channel that explores television news stories. . If something is trending, then it reflects
data to support the content so that people’s interest in it and it is also believed in news rooms that that
further content can be developed, they would likely be more watched by the viewers and as a result
angles can be discovered and the get more ratings.
news can be substantiated
Social media and what’s trending are also kept in mind while
selecting News as one would want to pick up popular stories to
ensure high TRP.
VARIOUS NEWS SPECIAL NEWS STRATEGY SELECTING AND PRESENTING NEWS AS PER FLAGSHIP SHOWS
ANGLES AND PLANNING AROUND TIME SLOT PRESENTED BY LEAD
BIG EVENTS ANCHORS
Bringing different if there is a big event, like Time slot of the news is very important. There are There is a thrust on the
angles and budget or election, then 24hrs in a day and apparently channels run shows flagship shows which are
perespectives are obviously that is reflected in the for 24 hrs. So, the content is divided into slots. mostly prime time with lead
also important content. Depending on it we There are morning slots where office goers or those anchors of news channels
keep changing the programmes who watch news in rush. There is fast news, snippet presenting it.
themes, topics and also new news like 100 news in 10 minutes etc kind of
programmes are introduced at programmes for them. And if you talk of early
times. morning then people are in spiritual mood. They
want to know about their whole day, like how will it
go. So some channels also present some sort of
astrology or some spiritual content. By afternoon
which is considered to be ‘ladies’ time, you show
entertainment news or news on serials,because it is
believed that women are interested in such shows.
News is selected considering the Time bands- Prime
time, morning, afternoon etc
There are attempts
to bring many news
angles of a single
news story
Various news
angles and
perspectives that
you bring , can lead
to uniqueness of the
content and thus
can appeal to
audience.
NEWS STORIES DIFFERENT SHOWING WHAT IS RELEVANT NEWS THAT CATCHES ATTENTION NEWS HAT AUDIENCE FIND
FROM OTHER CHANNELS TO AUDIENCE INTERESTING
At least some news stories News events shown should be of The biggest challenge nowdays is to get Content is selected and presented to
whould be different freom use and relevancy to audience the attention of the audience. So the interest the viewers and generate
other channels news is selected and packeged in a way curiosity
that it catches the attention of the
viewers.
ANNEXURE 17: JOURNALISTS RESPONSES: ROLE OF AN ANCHOR
ROLE IN ANCHORS DEVELOP A BRING CERTAIN BRANDING ANCHOR'S ONLY FEW ANCHORS
DRIVING IMPORTANT FOR CONNECT CREDIBILITY ANCHORS OF THE BRAND FACES PULL PRESENT
RATINGS PRIME TIME WITH HAVE ANCHOR ATTRACTS VIEWERSHIP EDITORIAL
PEOPLE LOYAL MATTERS IN VIEWERS LINE
/ARE AUDIENCE NEWS
POPULAR RELEVANCE
Important If we look at the Many a times, The anchors Some Anchors Branding & Anchor Not all Few Anchors
role in legacy of Hindi people watch bring that trust, have a loyal Time Slot of the becomes a Anchors Matter Present
driving channels, Primetime shows because that credibility audience and anchor also brand and Sometimes it Editorial Line
ratings. is already of some of the viewers their brand matters in attracts happens.
categorized in terms anchors, their matters. deciding their viewers to Suppose in
of who will drive the popularity, their relative watch the some channel
show and who will presentation relevance in channel Sudhir
do what. This is news content Chaudhary is
already decided. anchoring a
Anchors are show, in some
important in driving Anjana Om
prime time shows Kashyap is
giving a complete anchoring a
package to the show. It
viewers depends on the
anchor; it
depends on
what show and
what slot they
are doing.
Anchor The prime faces of Anchors are Viewers can They have a Anchors must be So, yes there Only few faces
matters in the channels run the very important trust them loyal audience branded and are many are able to
getting Primetime show. as people watch and that promoted and It shows which command
ratings shows because audience takes time to are influenced massive
of popularity of wants to build this brand by their brand viewership
some anchors, watch them. of anchors. and that brings
the way they viewership
present. For
example, people
watch India TV
at 9 just because
of Rajat
Sharma.
Their popularity
can also be seen
on social media.
Just look at
their followers.
(which
platforms, when
asked) - Twitter
and Face book.
Twitter is very
popular among
journalists.
Anchors The social some anchors Anchors are
are media is too have loyal real anchors
responsible active and audience are now their
for ratings anchors have face value,
of a show huge fan their style of
following. presentation,
People wait for their brand
their favourite matters, they
anchors and the influence
show. In fact, audiences,
they message who tune in
sometimes if the for them.
anchor doesn’t
show up.
They Anchors
influence become face
ratings to a interface.
large Viewers
extent. develop a
connect with
them
Anchors Anchors have
grab become news
eyeballs, celebrity, they
they get are popular, and
rating few of them
numbers. have many
followers on
social media.
ANNEXURE 18:JOURNALIST RESPONSES: DIFFERENTIAL CONTENT
STRUGGLE ANALYSIS NEWS ANGLES PRESENTATION REPORTER NEWS THROUGH THROUGH

OF THE STORIES SELECTION ANCHORS DIFFERENT
NEWS AS PER NEWS SHOW
EVENTS TARGET FORMATS
AUDIENCE
News events are It through The different news Presentation can be Different
all the same, and Analysis of the angles of a story through production reporter are
available on news event elements, news anchors, deployed to
news feed. So a visual treatment, sets, bring
lot needs to be guests etc. different kind
done to create of stories
some kind of
difference on
various fronts
Differentiation is Now the focus What kind of news Now the focus is on Differentiatior Decide which news May prime time
difficult as the is on analysis angles you bring analysis in depth and content is one news is anchors shows are coming up
news event is in depth about a story that how you present it that your important for with different
same so the grabs attention through graphics, sets, reporter your channel formats. For example
basic and adds value to anchor style of creates. This depending on Chahta Hai on ABP
information the coverage of presentation news is only the channel's or Desh Ki Behas on
about the event news with you and target audience News Nation, they
has to be not with and their integrate the audience
present. Also the others. So that viewing in a big way. Also
news and feed makes you preferences. some news shows can
etc come from different. have their distinct
agencies so most properties. DNA
of the time basic generally has a
visuals are more segment called Today
or less the same. in History and
Nonstop news.
Wo toh bahut The How many Through visual Variety of Anchor style News Shows
mushkil hai. differentiation different treatment, two widows, reporter of generally prime time
Creating some can be through dimensions, different visuals, editing stories presentation. ones display different
kind of in-depth angles you bring effects. Also anchors Different formats. For example
differentiation is analysis of of a news event and their style, anchors if you compare DNA
a challenge as news especially the faces of a have or Aaj Ki Baat with
news is about channel have a role to different Poochta Hai Bharat
events. play. styles of or Halla Bol they are
presentation, both key shows of
their their channels but the
personalities format is different.
are different
News is event It is created by You can focus on how Anchors and

based and the bringing different to present it , in terms of their style,
source are news angles of a how the anchor presents especially
agencies for news story (news it. Packaging can be the faces of
many stories. event) through various editing a channel
Even on social elements, effects have a role
media the news graphics, even to play.
events appear windows, variety of
early and start visuals etc.
trending So how
do you bring that
difference is a
task
The biggest This can be through how the

challenge in scripting, secondly anchor
creating that some channel can make presents it
differentiation is it through packaging
the social media, like channel adds music
where many in the background,
news events are impactful voice overs,
broken (first vibrant editing effects
appear) So the
differentiation
can be through
in-depth analysis
of news
On the basis of
presentation, from the
style of the anchor to
the show format – some
have guests, some have
package. Packaging
elements like Different
voice overs, graphics,
different visuals
ANNEXURE 19: SALES & REVENUE PROFESSIONALS : WHY ADVERTISERS
ADVERTISE
REACH MALE AD RATES OF NEWS CHANNELS OTS TRADERS AND NFCT AND CONTENT
AUDIENCES ARE LOW DISTRIBUTORS OTHER NON
TVC
INTEGRATIONS
Core viewership of News The cost of advertising is less as advertising Opportunity to Target Trade NFCT and other Content of
Channels is male, rates are less See is a factor non TVC the news
advertiser wants to reach integrations channels is
that audience and hence also an
advertises on News important
Channels factor
Advertisers advertise in Rates (advertising rates), are much lower For Traders and
News Channels because than other genres like GEC Distributers
of the TG which is
primarily male.
Target male viewers, Low entry cost (it is cheaper to start
audiences advertising in news channels because of
lower ad rates)
Ad rates of News channels are low- this is
one of the factors why advertisers advertise
ANNEXURE 20: SALES & REVENUE PROFESSIONALS: ROLE OF ANCHOR
INFLUENCES ADVERTISER NEWS ANCHORS BRING FACE OF ANCHOR MUST LEADS TO APPOINTMENT
PREMIUM BE SUPPLEMENTED VIEWING
WITH PROMOTION
We don’t have any data to support Presenter plays a role and well A face must be supplemented Mostly 9pm and 10pm debate
influencing advertising . But we can researched content has premium. with good promotion shows have more appointment
surely say that Anchor perception and viewing because of credibility
audience liking always impact and fan following of top Anchor
advertisers decision.
Very critical Role of Anchor in getting Bringing a face brings premium

advertising for a new bulletin or show
ANNEXURE 21: SALES AND REVENUE PROFESSIONALS: ROLE OF CONTENT
CONTEN AUDIE INFLUENCE PRESENTATIO CONTENT LITTLE LACK OF GOOD AD RATES NEWS EVENTS
T NCE ADVERTISERS N IS EVEN SCOPE DIFFERENTI RESEARC ALSO CAN GIVE
DECIDES STICKI SIGNIFICANT MORE FOR AL CONTENT HED BASED ON DIFFERENTIAL
PERCEP NESS TO GET IMPORTA FORMAT MAKES IT GIVES CONTENT CONTENT
TION AUDIENCE NT PAY SHOWS DIFFICULT PREMIU COST
CHANNEL TO DRIVE M
REACH
Content It helps It has been In News there is Pay Channel Format Driving the right Good It purely Events
drives improve observed in no content get shows are reach is difficult as researc depends on the organised by
perception audience past that differentiation. subscription generally there is lack of hed money one is new channels
of the stickiness advertiser It is the viewers revenue not viable differential content investing in the for instance
channel prefer to be that come on based on coz content. But there has a property. For Agenda Aaj
And if partner with the channel audience productio can be differential premiu example we Tak , Sahitya
perception news channel matters and it is preference n cost is content in terms of m too. had a Aajtak-They
is affected who have based on the on channel high. presentation and programme are also the
in bad way, better content presentation. If content selection of news. like news content
the affinity the presentation which is For instance Pradhanmantri and it also
numbers is attractive, a surely based Arnab’s show on in which we differentiates
are likely particular set of on Times Now was a invested a lot. content. It is
to get viewers will credibility differential content So the rates unique
affected in come based on and TOMA and everybody were high content.
similar it. Packaging, of specific started following
fashion. Screen, Look channel. him.
and Feel is
important.
. Content is Little
important. Scope for
Quality of format
content one of shows as
the reasons for the
the selection of expectatio
ANNEXURE 21: SALES AND REVENUE PROFESSIONALS: ROLE OF CONTENT
news channels ns are that
by the of GEC.
advertisers
ISSN - 2229-3620 SHODH SANCHAR BULLETIN
APPROVED UGC CARE Vol. 10, Issue 40, October-December, 2020
YIS Page Nos. 107-111
AN INTERNATIONAL BILINGUAL PEER REVIEWED REFEREED RESEARCH JOURNAL
EMERGING NEWS CONSUMPTION HABITS AMONG MEDIA

AUDIENCES : AN ONLINE STUDY Kakoli Sengupta*
Dr. C.P. Singh**
ABSTRACT
The study examines the emerging News consumption habits among the audiences in urban India. In the
landscape populated by abundant mediums, news on every platform is competing for audience attention. From the
mainstream media to digital platforms, the news consumer has abundant options at his disposal. But where do
mainstream Television news stand? The news anchors in the Indian Television News landscape have a substantial
screen presence. Do these anchors have any influence on the news consumption habits of the audiences? The study
adopted an online survey method along with qualitative interviews among ten percent of the group to understand the
news consumption habits of the subjects in multiple age groups, and found that news on broadcast television leads the
viewership and the main reason is the credibility of the anchor that even supersedes the credibility of the channel.
Keywords : News channels, News consumption, Appointment viewership, Broadcast media
Introduction : across both emerging and existing platforms.

Nielsen & Sambrook (2016) in their Reuters Wonneberger, Schoenbach & Meurs (2011) cite Webster
Digital News Report done in the context of UK and US & Wakshlag, (1983) saying viewer availability is a
point out the decline in Television news viewing significant factor deciding news viewership “Since
especially among the younger generation. On the other viewers spend quite a lot of time watching TV, there is a
hand in India, youth in the age group of 15 to 30 years, chance that they will stumble upon political content.”
contributes to 33% of the TV viewership . The viewership Also making another important point by referring to the
share of News in this age group is 7%. (BARC 2018). study of Hargreaves & Thomas, 2002; Köcher, 2008, they
According to FICCI EY Report, 2019 also notes that say that older people watch more television. They also
Indians use “80% of their phone time on social media, note “News exposure of politically interested viewers is
news and entertainment” .Referencing these studies, the influenced by situational factors to a lesser extent than
present research paper explores the dynamic news news exposure of viewers who are less politically
consumption patterns of the audiences. With numerous interested” Similarly Batbayal makes a note of an
platforms co-existing where does Television news stand? interesting phenomenon in the Indian media landscape.
Also are news anchors, the 'celebrities' (Batbayal 2012) Batbayal (2011) in Making News calls news anchors as
influencing the news viewership of the audiences? the new Indian celebrities. These celebrities drive
Literature Review plethora of talk shows, discussions and news bulletins
There have been many studies on the news offering 'goodies' to the audiences.
consumption behaviour of the audiences. However the Jaagi & Majumdar (2009) quote Dr N Bhaskara
subject demands repeated research at frequent intervals Rao, chairman of the Centre for Media Studies (CMS),
*PhD Research Scholar - School of Mass Communication, GGS University, Delhi

**Professor - School of Mass Communication, Guru Gobind Singh University, Delhi
Vol. 10 Issue 40 October to December 2020 107 BI-LINGUAL INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH JOURNAL
New Delhi. Rao points out that the decline of public to television news, although they embrace many forms of
confidence in the media. The study notes that the online video. In the United States, Twitch, the Amazon-
popularity is not a sure shot indicator of 'credible public owned website for watching online streams of video
perception' of news content or the news channel. The games, has a prime-time audience that rivals major cable
subjects in the study unanimously agreed on the news channels like MSNBC and CNN, and it attracts
sensationalization of news content, especially by Hindi many more younger viewers.2 Television news,
News Channels in India. The study quotes”Only 57 per meanwhile, reaches a shrinking number of older viewers
cent of the respondents said they relied on Television for whose media habits are increasingly different from the
credible news”. population at large, and especially from the media habits
Reuters Digital Report (2019) does an extensive of those who have grown up with digital media” The
study of India's digital news consumption habits and authors in the present paper want to explore the news
remarks India as a 'mobile first market'. As per the study viewership patterns especially in a scenario of multiple
for 68% respondents smart phones were the main device platforms.
for online news consumption. The report says. “An Research Methodology :
overwhelming majority of respondents identify various The study explores specific research questions that
forms of distributed discovery as their main way of examine the news patterns of the audience.
accessing news online. Search (32%) and various kinds a) Which is the preferred medium of the news
of social media (24%) are particularly important. Only consumption?
18% consider direct access their main way of getting b) Do the audiences have a preference for any
news online.” Face book and Whatspp were widely used television news channel?
platform for news access as per the report. “Face book c) Do they have a preference for any news channel?
and Whatspp are particularly widely used, with 75% of The aforementioned questions were examined
respondents using Face book (and 52% saying they get through a survey method that involved a questionnaire of
news there), and 82% using Whatspp (with 52% getting multiple choice questions as well as close ended
news there). Other social media widely used for news questions. The survey was followed by a qualitative
include Integra (26%), Twitter (18%), and Face book interview sessions with the subjects randomly chosen
Messenger (16%)”. Report also observed that the across multiple age brackets to arrive at specific case
respondents had low trust in news overall and in news studies. A survey was designed with 100+ respondents
they personally use. However trust in news search and across India in varied age groups. The nature of questions
social media was higher in respondents than in many was a mix of multiple choice and descriptive. The same
other countries. Besides mobile alerts was also an was distributed to them online. Supplementing the
important source of news. survey was in depth qualitative interviews with
As far as video viewing is concerned, most of the respondents from each age group.
video was viewed outside the publisher platforms and The survey method that involved a questionnaire
viewers mainly viewed them on platforms like YouTube of multiple choice questions as well as close ended
and Face book rather than on the publisher's questions. The survey was followed by a qualitative
website.”This is broadly in line with other industry interview sessions with the subjects randomly chosen
research suggesting YouTube and Face book account across multiple age brackets to arrive at specific case
for60–70% of total online video consumption in India.” studies.
(ibid) Findings & Analysis
Nielsen and Sambrook (2016) point out the The survey found that the most preferred medium
indifference of younger people towards Television News. of news consumption was Television, followed by social
“Younger people especially seem increasingly indifferent media and mobile apps.
The survey was followed by an in-depth interview fact revealed was that news coverage of their preferred
with respondents from different age groups, where the news channel or hosted by their preferred news anchor
subjects revealed a variety of choices. In the age group of are being watched on YouTube or social media by these
17 to 35. These respondents belonged to the tier 1 or tier 2 respondents. Both these observations corroborate with
cities of India and had an upwardly mobile lifestyle. the study of Nielsen Sambrook (2016) in the context of
While most of them relied on a variety of mediums for US & UK, the declining interest in the television news
news consumption, the device that was at least used once about the youngsters. Following case studies prepared
a day was mobile phone. Be it social media, news apps or after extensive in depth interviews delve deeper on the
Whatspp notifications for news, all respondents agreed to consumption patterns
using mobile phones. In the age group of 17 to 35 it was In depth Findings :
seen that news was consumed mainly through social Nidhi, one of the respondents is in early twenties.
media or news apps. The age group rarely tuned into She is a new job entrant. She mostly consumes news on a
Television News, unless the family or someone else was news app while travelling. She rarely switches on to
watching it. And in rare situations, when they did switch television and even if she does, it is to only watch the
on Television News, it is to either to get the round up of Arnab Goswami show, especially when something
the events occurred during the day. Another interesting controversial happens, that she finds out from the
internet.. The reason for her to watch this particular show The overall survey too revealed that 45% people
is because of the hype created by it. She tunes into the have a definite preference for a particular news anchor.
repeat telecast of the show on television to watch that The qualitative interviews revealed that most
particular show. respondents did have a preference for an anchor
Shashank Srivastav, one of the respondents and a especially Ravish Kumar from NDTV, though they may
heavy news consumer. He is 33 years old and he gets most not necessarily been watching him on television
of his updates from mobile apps and social media. On regularly. This is often due his popularity, reputation and
weekends he tunes into the prime time news, mostly a down to earth, realistic approach to news presentation.
NDTV to get a roundup of the news coverage. The qualitative interviews confirmed that most of the
Gaurav Joshi is also in his mid twenties. He starts respondents did show their preference for particular news
consuming media around 7 to 8 a.m. onwards. He turns to anchors, even if they did not remember their name
preferred news media apps like scroll. In, the print. In- always. Most had a designated time of consuming news
which he calls 'independent and credible' media, for news on their preferred choice of medium.
updates. Also he follows their social media pages so he Conclusion :
gets the updates in his social media feed also. He likes to The research findings of this study revealed some
watch Ravish Kumar from NDTV but he does it not on interesting facts. Firstly it confirmed that the news
Television but on YouTube. Among his preferred anchors consumption patterns vary in terms of age groups and as
is also Dhruv Rathee - the famous you tuber and social per the lifestyle of the viewers. Moreover during the in
media activist. But he chooses to watch them on mobile depth interviews it was confirmed what the survey also
and not television. He generally consumes news in the brought out, that the internet platforms - social media,
morning and evening mobile apps, and websites are now well established and
Maithili Ganjoo is in her fifties. She is a heavy important sources of news for these news consumers.
news consumer. She starts her news consumption in the Here too the mobile phones are equally common among
morning through news papers, followed by mobile apps. all age groups. Interestingly, despite the growing digital
Television news consumption is 'strictly in the evening'. user ship, when it came to viewing news, the broadcast
She has her preferred news anchors and news channels still plays a very important role – and here too the
and tunes into them at primetime - 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. While appointment viewing prevails in most cases. The
she gets her news updates from mobile apps and news respondents reiterated that certain news anchors become
papers, she does tunes into TV news at a designated time – favourite and because of them the viewers watch certain
that is prime time. She prefers a particular set of anchors- channels regularly.
Rajdeep Sardesai and Ravish. One of the reasons for her A significant percentage of respondents did have a
choice of Rajdeep Sardesai is because she has been preference for a particular news anchor and they either
watching him since his NDTV days. watched him on Television or other platforms. The reason
Geetika in her 30s on the other hand does have her behind the choice was the credibility associated with the
preferred news show and recognises the anchors of that news anchor.
show. But credits the show's content for her preference References :
and not anchors. She tunes in to the show on Wion news at 1. BARC (2018) What Young India Watches?
a particular time always. RetrievedfromBARCwebsite
Shivani, in her forties too has a similar news https://www.barcindia.co.in/resources/What%20
consumption pattern like Maithili. She consumes news Young%20India%20Watches.pdf
through mobile apps and television news during prime 2. Batabyal Somnath (2012) Making News In India
time. She has preference for anchors like Sudhir Star News and Star Ananda, New Delhi,
Chowdhry and Arnab Goswami. Routledge)
3. Jaggi, Ruchi & Majumdar, Pallavi (2009). 8. The era of consumer A.R.T India's Media &
Popularity vs. Credibility: An Analysis of Public Entertainment Sector (2019), FICCI EY (2020)
Perception of Sensationalism in Indian Television Retrieved from EY website https://www.ey.com/
News. IMS Manthan. Vol. 4, Issue (December), en_in/media-entertainment/ficci-ey-media-and-
ISSN 0974-7141 entertainment-report-2019
4. JOUR Conlin, Lindsey AU - Billings, Andrew AU 9. Sen Antara Dev (2003) News Watch: in search of a
- Averset, Lauren (2016) Time-shifting vs. national culture Author(s): 2002-SPRING 2003,
Appointment viewing: The role of fear of missing Vol. 29, No. 3/4, India: A National Culture?
out within TV consumption behaviours VL - 29 (WINTER 2002-SPRING 2003) pp. 275-288
5. Mike Conway Ph.D. (2007) A Guest in Our Living Published by: India International Centre Stable
Room: The Television Newscaster Before the Rise Retrieved from: http://www.jstor.com/stable/
of the Dominant Anchor, Journal of Broadcasting 23005833
& Electronic Media, 51:3, 457-478, DOI: 10. Ta b r e z A n e z Z e n a b , N e y a z i A h m a d ,
10.1080/08838150701457529 Kalogeropoulos Antonis, Nielsen Kleis Rasmus
6. Nielsen Ramus Kleis, Sambrook Richard (2016) (2019) Reuters Institute India Digital News Report
Digital News Project 2016 Retrieved from 2019. Retrieved from Reutersinstitute website
Reuters Institute Websitehttps://reutersinstitute. https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/sites/defa
politic s.ox.ac. uk/site s/defa ult/file s/2017 - ult/files/2019-03/India_DNR_FINAL.pdf
06/What%20is%20Happening%20to%20Televisi 11. D O - 10 . 15581 / 003 . 29 . 4 . 151 - 164 JO
on%20News.pdf Communication & Society
7. Rao Shakuntala & Singh Navjit (2006) Ethics and 12. Wonneberger Anke, Schoenbach Klaus & Meurs
News Making in the Changing Indian Mediascape, Lex van (2011) Interest in News and Politics—or
Journal of Mass Media Ethics, 21:4, 286-303, Situational Determinants? Why People Watch the
DOI: 10.1207/ s15327728jmme2104_5 News, Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic
Media, 55:3, 325-343, DOI: 10.1080/08838151.
2011.59746
in news than women‖ The same study also 4. Are they likely to share news events with
reveals, ― Men are more likely than women to others?
say that they are ‗extremely‘ or ‗very‘ interested
Research Methodology:
in political news across all markets, again with
differences between men and women of ten A survey research method was found
percentage points or more in most countries‖. suitable for the study. After an extensive
literature review, a structured questionnaire was
India ranks at 123 rd position in Gender
prepared with mostly close ended questions.
Inequality Index (UNDP,2020 ) raising serious
Through purposive sampling 105 Indian women
concerns on the gender inequality issue in India. respondents were included in the study and the
Gender inequality has been a serious issue in
survey was administered online through Google
India since long. Women have been facing
forms. The respondents in the survey were from
discrimination in social, political, economic various age groups ranging from 18 to 45 years
spheres and gender inequality is firmly
and above. They belonged to varied walks of
entrenched in the socio economic cultural
life- from students to marketing professionals, to
processes of the country. sales professionals, to homemakers to digital
Media is not just a tool of information content creators and so on.
dissemination but also opinion formation.
Findings and analysis
Women‘s awareness about the events around her
can go a long way in not just educating her Findings revealed that political news is
about the society and economy around but also the news genre most respondents consumed.
empowering her. It can facilitate her decision 72.4% respondents stated that they consumed
making and opinion formation and propel her political news. Also, in the following question,
towards responsible citizenship. Hence most respondents, that is 42.9% of them, stated
understanding their news consumption habits that they consumed Political news most out of
would go a long way in identifying women‘s other news genres. These findings are in sharp
lifestyle patterns and identifying the areas where contrast with the international study conducted
as the society as a whole must extend support to across many countries which suggest that
facilitate their empowerment. women are less likely to report being interested
in political news. (Selva,Andi, 2020). The
Research Questions findings suggest that women in India are
The study is conducted with the interested in political sphere and possibly want
objective to understand the news consumption to stay informed about the political events too.
habits of women in India. While the industry Staying informed about political news could
reports do suggest that the split between men potentially help them stay aware about their
and women TV news audience is narrow, the rights and duties as citizens and also can assist
study wants to go deeper into the phenomena to them in taking well informed decisions for
get answers to further questions and analyse themselves as well as the state and society. This
consumption of news as a genre and not limited could possibly not just empower them but also
to television or print news. The following are can prove to be healthy for the country‘s society
the research questions of the study: and economy.
1. Which genre of news do most women in
India consume?
2. Which news genre do they consume the
most out of other genres?
3. How do women news audiences
consume news?
165
phone to be their main device for news access. It
should be noted that this report mentions the
sample being skewed ‗towards male, affluent,
and educated respondents‘.
The next finding in the present research
paper reveal interesting results. Most women in
the present study stated that they are likely to
share news events face to face, online or on
social media. While 47.6% admitted ‗yes‘ to
discussing or sharing news events face to face,
online or on social media, another 45.7% stated
‗sometimes‘ to the question. This suggests that
women in India are not dormant news
consumers. They seem to act on it. They seem to
engage with it. The findings imply that they not
just consume news but also possibly actively
process it and this possibly contributes to
opinion formation and opinion dissemination in
the society.
The next finding suggests that these
women respondents consumed news on
In terms of platforms, social media was Television with their family the most. 47.6%
reported to be the most favoured platform respondents opted for family when asked ‗How
among the respondents, followed by Mobile do you watch news on Television? ‗This was
Phone/Tablet Apps, Websites and Television. A followed by 31.4% of respondents stating,
majority of 65.7% stated social media to be the ‗While doing chores‘, which suggests that these
platform where they consumed news most. It many respondents are possibly passively
must be noted that the findings imply social consuming news on TV. Only 7.6% respondents
media as a more favoured medium than reported watching news on TV actively without
Television or Newspaper for news consumption doing anything else in the survey.
among respondents. Only 20% respondents in
the present study reported using newspaper for In the present study 54.3% of the women
consuming of news. However these choices do respondents said they consumed News at night.
not necessarily indicate being the exclusive This was followed by Evening (42.9%),
platforms of the respondents for news Morning (38.1%) and Afternoon (21%).31.4%
consumption, rather they indicate being used respondents revealed hardly watching prime
along with other platforms in the entries where time news bulletins in the late evenings as they
multiple choices have been opted for, by the reported ‗rarely‘ as opposed to 12.4% reporting
respondents. However cumulatively social ‗everyday‘ and 24.8% stating ‗often‘ as a
media leads the category. response to the question- How often do you
watch prime-time television bulletins in the late
These findings are also similar to the evenings?
ones reflected in Reuters Institute India Digital
News Report (2019), where more than half of Another 31.4% stated ‗sometimes‘ as a
the number of respondents stated social media is response to the same question. Thus the study
where they get news from and a quarter of them suggests that there are possibly many women
reported their main source to be social media for audiences watching prime time news bulletins
online news. Also, in this same 2019 Reuters often or everyday in the late evenings. It seems
study 68% of the respondents reported smart many women audiences also want to stay
informed about current events and are interested
166
in consuming the marquee shows presented responses finally gathered through the
during prime time in the late evenings by the form.
news channels.
References
33.3% women in the study revealed
1) FICCI EY( 2021, March). Playing by
consuming news for half an hour to 1 hour daily.
new rules, India's Media &
This was followed by 28.6% respondents stating Entertainment sector reboots in 2020.
consuming news for less than half an hour in a
Retrieved from https://assets.ey.com ›
day in the study and another 28.6% also
ey-com › en_in › topics › 2021
reported consuming news for 1to 2 hours. Less
than 10% respondents stated they consume news 2) BARC (2018). Breaking The News
for more than two hours daily in the study. This Story. Retrieved from
finding indicates how much time in a day do https://www.barcindia.co.in/newsletter/b
women dedicate to news. Be it digital or reaking-the-news-story.pdf
Television, multitude of content genres are 3) FiCCI Frames, BARC (2018) The
available for consumption to the audience across Changing Face Of TV In India.
platforms. News as a content genre competes Retrieved from
with several others in gaining attention of the https://www.scribd.com/document/4366
audience. 06834/The-Changing-Face-of-TV-in-
Conclusion: India
On the basis of the findings the study 4) Benjamin Toff & Ruth A. Palmer (2019)
suggests that women in India are not news Explaining the Gender Gap in News
averse. They are possibly potential consumers of Avoidance: ― News-Is-for-Men‖
political news. However which news stories do Perceptions and the Burdens of
they actually consider political news, can be the Caretaking, Journalism Studies, 20:11,
scope for further study. Most respondents in the 1563-1579, DOI:
study also reported social media as their 10.1080/1461670X.2018.1528882
favoured platform for news consumption. This 5) Christine Benesch (2012) An Empirical
suggests that social media is possibly becoming Analysis of the Gender Gap in News
a prominent medium for news consumption Consumption, Journal of Media
among women in India leaving other mediums Economics, 25:3, 147-167, DOI:
like television and newspapers behind. In the 10.1080/08997764.2012.700976 To link
study most respondents revealed discussing and to this article:
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social media which suggests that they possibly 0097
not just consume news but also engage with
news and possibly contribute to discussions and 6) Rasha Kamhawi Ph.D. & Maria
opinion formation eliciting from news events. Elizabeth Grabe Ph.D. (2008) Engaging
the Female Audience: An Evolutionary
Limitations and Scope of Study Psychology Perspective on Gendered
a) The study was conducted on a sample Responses to News Valence Frames,
size of 105 women respondents. There is Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic
a further scope of conducting the same Media, 52:1, 33-51, DOI:
research on a bigger sample through pre 10.1080/08838150701820783 To link to
determined cluster sampling based on this article:
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783
b) The forms were distributed online
through Google forms and the
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167
7) Newman, Nic; with Fletcher,Richard; %20Women%20and%20News%20FINA
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017 php
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168
Document Information
Analyzed document Kakoli Sengupta Res Scho ENo 90061131213, GGSIPU.docx (D111819393)
Submitted 8/30/2021 10:21:00 AM
Submitted by Pijush Dutta
Submitter email pijush.dutta@apeejay.edu
Similarity 0%
Analysis address pijush.dutta.asuape@analysis.urkund.com
Sources included in the report
1/3
Profile of the Researcher
A former journalist and a communication specialist, Kakoli Sengupta has been working in the industry for more
than ten years. She is an alumna of Indian Institute of Mass Communication, New Delhi and Sri Venkateswara
College, Delhi University.
After working for around seven years in leading Indian News Channels, she moved to work in the corporate
enterprises in various content and communication roles. The curiosity to learn more about the industry and its
economy inspired her to take up this doctoral research. She hopes, her research work interests both industry and
academia alike.

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Advertising Revenue Models of Select News Channels

University School of Mass Communication

Prof. (Dr.) C.P. Singh

Ms. Kakoli Sengupta

Prof. (Dr.) Queeny Pradhan

Name of the paper Name of the journal

Evolution of Television Media in India

Evolution of Advertising on Indian Television

Media Business in India

 Revenue Streams of Broadcasters

Theoretical Premise of Research

Chapter 2 Literature Review

 Evolution of Indian Media, News Culture and Indian Media Business

Chapter 4: Findings & Analysis

Main Study- Part 1

1. Factors that lead an advertiser to advertise in News Channels

8. Ratings, Content and Perception: In Detail

9. Influence of Advertising Revenue on News Content

10. Social Media and News Content

12. News Anchors & News Anchor Shows

13, Influence of Corona virus Pandemic on News Channels

Main Study Part 2

Case of dichotomy of content and sponsorship.

Influence of NFCT Advertising on News Content.

Chapter 5: Discussion, Limitations and Scope

Limitations of the Study

Scope for Further Research

Table 4.5: Ratings Vs Perception

Table 4.6: Role of Ratings

Table 4.7- Role of Content

Table 4.8- Ratings Vs Content

Table 4.9: Format of the shows

Table 4.10: Role of an Anchor

Table 4.11: Factors that lead to Selection of News

Graph 4.1: Factors that lead to Selection of News

Table 4.13: Practices followed to ensure high ratings

Graph 4.2: Practices followed to ensure high ratings

Table 4.14: Role of anchors in News Content

Graph 4.3: Role of anchors in News Content

Table 4.15: Promotion of News Anchors

Table 4.16: Ways to bring differentiation

Table 4.18: Role of Anchor in News Channel Business

Table 4.19: Role of content in news channel business

1. b: Genre wise Revenues 2019 and 2020

1.c : Media versus GDP 1

1.d : Media versus GDP 2

1.e : Genre wise Revenues Year 2016 and 2017

1.f : News Ad Volumes

1.g :: New Channel Share of Ad Volumes

1.h : Genre wise Ad Volumes

1.i : Time Band wise Advertising Share

1.j: Genre wise Share of Ad Volumes

1m: Sponsorship of Feature Property

1o: L Band Sponsorship -2

1p: Bulletin Property- Snippet News Sponsorship

1s: Brand Bugs on ABP News

1t : Brand Bugs on News 18 India

1u: Sponsorship being presented and announced

1v: Advertorial on Aaj Tak

Image 4.1: Rupa Frontline Ad on Aaj Tak

Image 4.2: Lux Cozi Ad on India TV

Image 4.3 Swagat Proxim Ad on NDTV

Image 4.4: Wild Stone’s TVC Ad on Aaj Tak