A

PROJECT REPORT

ON
STUDY OF VIEWERSHIP RESPONSE

ON

````````````````
 INDEX
CONTENTS
 CERTIFICATE
 ACKNOWLEGEMENT

CHAPTER 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 7

CHAPTER 2. INDUSTRY PROFILE 10

2.1 Changing face of media
2.2 Media industry road ahead
2.3 Indian television-flash back
2.4 Golf war-the catalyst
2.5 Major players
2.6 Regional Leaders
2.7 Scenario of consumer viewership in India
2.8 India’s great channel goldrush
2.9 Conclusion

CHAPTER 3. COMPANY PROFILE 30

3.1 IBN 7 Ethos
3.2 IBN 7 Promises
3.3 IBN 7 Strengths

CHAPTER 4 RESEARCH METHODLOGY 40

4.1 Purpose of the study

4.2 Objectives of the study
4.3 Sample of study
4.4 Sampling techniques
4.5 Tools used for data collection
4.6 Research design
4.7 Statistical techniques used for analyzing data

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CHAPTER 5. FINDINGS ANDANALYSIS OF DATA 44

CHAPTER 6. INTERPRETATION OF THE FINDINGS 66

CHAPTER 7. SUGGESTION 69

 LIMITATIONS 71

 BIBLIOGRAPHY 73

 APPENDIX 75

3
 CHAPTER 1

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

4
 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The project is an attempt to study the viewership response on IBN7.

It tries to explore the media industry, market of the news channels in India through
surveying the customers with the help questionnaire.

INTRODUCTION TO MEDIA INDUSTRY

This chapter deals with how the news channel market is exploding in India, with
new news channels coming up almost everyday. It is one of the few markets where make
money opportunities is maximum. But lately it is seen that the market share is getting to
be static and even decreasing for these channels. They range from Hindi to English to
even regional language news channels like Aaj Tak,NDTV 24X 7, Zee News, Star News,
CNN-IBN, Udaya News etc. The media industry is on a high road ahead.

INTRODUCTION TO COMPANY

In this chapter the company IBN 7 is explored in terms of its ethics, promise,
strengths and the various shows telecasted on it. It has a wide range of programme like
Sunrise, Newsbreak, Breakfast News, IBN 7 Live, IBN 7 Lunch Special, Serial Jaisa Koi
Nahin, Newszone, Sportszone,7 PM, IBN 7 Special, News Centre, News Express, Danke
Ki Chot Par, Big News, Criminal, Final Report.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The main objectives undertaken to this study is the essence of this chapter. The
main objective being to conduct survey across Delhi to accumulate and analyze the
information gathered to study, Popularity of Hindi news channels, Awareness of IBN7 in
North India, IBN7 in comparison to other news channels etc.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

It includes problem recognition, research design and data analysis methods used
in the successful completion of this project report.

5
FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS

The interpretation of findings led to this formulation of SWOT analysis i.e.,

analysis of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats faced by IBN 7 in the
huge market of news channels in India. This would aid the company to see its current
position in the market and grasp good opportunities coming its way.

SUGGESTIONS

The ultimate aim of the report is to provide suggestions to the company so as to

help it achieve a better market position.These suggestions are based on the findings of the
survey and the interpretation done.

6
 CHAPTER - 2

INTRODUCTION TO MEDIA INDUSTRY

7
2.1 Changing face of Media….

The past few years have witnessed phenomenal growth in the number of news channels
in India. From 11 in 2002, there are 36 news channels today, and many more are in the
pipeline. With Times Now (a joint venture between Times group and Reuters service)
and CNN-IBN (a TV-18 /Global Broadcast News brand) coming in this year, the market
has entered a new phase of competition.

Fig 1.1: Studio Room

The chaotic, argumentative nature of our democracy is, perhaps, the ideal breeding
ground for them. This is because the more undemocratic a country, the more difficult it is
to disseminate or comment on news. China, for instance, has a demand/supply gap on
content, which most media companies blame on the lack of democracy. Plus, in India,
there are “sub-genres such as crime, Bollywood and night life that have boosted the
viewership of news channels”, says Manish Porwal, executive director (India-West),
Starcom Worldwide. It is a pattern followed by news channels in large democracies like
the US. But in India, this stretching of news to create genres and sub-genres has been
multiplied into dozens of languages and regions.
As a result, India is, arguably, one of the few countries in the world with so many news
channels. More important, it is one of the few markets where most of them make money.
However, it may not remain so for long. After all, how long will advertisers support the
need for a daily argument in every conceivable language? Can the boom be sustained, or
is the bubble going to burst soon?
Perhaps, it is time to rethink the party.

8
The signals have been getting stronger in the last few months. TAM data shows that the
share of ad revenue from news channels has been static at 10-11 per cent of the total over
the last 4-5 years. Of course, the pie is
expanding. So, of the total TV ad revenues
of Rs 5,412 crore in 2005, news channels
account for Rs 550 crore. The problem is,
there is only advertising.

With the total ad pie expected to grow at

about 12-14 per cent a year, news channels
should get around Rs 1,000 crore by 2008.
Starting a channel costs Rs 50 crore-60
crore. As per the announcements made so
far, 10-12 news channels should be on air
in the next 12 months, an investment of Rs
500 crore-600 crore. This is nearly equal to the current market size.

Fig 1.2 Growth of news

But given that on an average, a channel takes 3-4 years to break even, it looks like not
many will be able do so. The post-launch operating expenses are rising exponentially due
to marketing and distribution costs, which form 10-20 per cent of revenues. This includes
the substantial carriage fee. The Indian cable pipe, currently the main mode of
distribution, can support only 106 channels, while the actual number is much more. So,
both small and large players are finding the carriage fees to multi-system operators g to
depend on.
(MSOs) and placement fee to cable operators tough to keep up with. Thus, NDTV’s
profits dipped sharply last year, largely due to carriage fees. The bottomline — the whole
cost-revenue equation is getting out of hand.
The big question that investors will soon start asking is: how to make up for the initial
investment and the operating costs? When the second boom in news channels occured in

9
2003, the answer came from the very heterogeneity that networks are now banking on.
The first push came with Hindi news channels such as NDTV India and Sahara Samay.
Hindi still rules in both reach and advertising. G. Krishnan, executive director and CEO,
TV Today says that Aaj Tak still reaches five times the number of viewers that its
English channel Headlines Today does every week. Then came business channels such as
NDTV Profit and CNBC Awaaz, which showed the maximum growth in viewership
figures (in percentage terms). It is up more than five times in the past four years. This
was followed by English and regional channels (up four times in the same period).

Table 1.1 Top channels of India

Yet, the ad money may not chase all sub-genres with equal fervor. “English news
channels get you a premium while Hindi news channels get you volumes,” says Raj
Nayak, CEO, NDTV Media. Basabdatta Chowdhuri, COO, Madison Media Plus, a media

10
buying agency, agrees: “Although a 10-second spot during peak prime time on Aaj Tak
costs Rs 22,000 with bonus spots on non-prime time, English news has a premium over
Hindi and regional ones.” As a result, ad-spend on business channels, most of them
English, doubled in 2005 as compared to 2004. There is only so much slicing by
languages and sub-genres possible now. So, how will this latest wave be supported?

2.2 Media Industry-Road Ahead

The Indian Media industry is undergoing remarkable change and is today one of the
fastest growing sectors in the country.
According to a report by Crisil, Media industry is poised to double its revenues by 2010
with an annual growth rate of 15.6 percent. The study forecasts that the revenues will
reach up to the level of INR 74,400 crore by 2010 from INR 36,100 crore in 2005. The
sector is riding high on the back of several factors such as presence of multiple players,
greater choices to consumers and growing investor interest. According to another report
by FICCI and PricewaterhouseCoopers, the media and entertainment sector is expected to
cross turnover of INR 100,000 crore by 2011 from the present INR 43,700 crore, thereby
registering 18 per cent compounded annual growth. The Indian entertainment and media
industry is witnessing a phenomenal growth and is slated to grow at 19 per cent to Rs
83,740 crore by 2010 from its current size of Rs 35,300 crore, according to a study.

The phenomenal growth in the entertainment and media sector can be attributed to
economic growth, rising income levels, consumerism combined with technological
advancements and policy initiatives undertaken by the Indian government, the Ficci-
PricewaterhouseCoopers study has forecast.

"Two factors that will contribute to the growth of the industry are low media penetration
in lower socio-economic classes and low ad spends...but efforts to increase it even
slightly are likely to deliver much higher results," PricewaterhouseCoopers'
Entertainment and Media practice Executive Director and leader Deepak Kapoor said in a
statement.

11
With an estimated 28 million Indians already hooked on to the internet, internet
advertising in India is presently worth Rs 100 crore. With the broadband slowly
becoming popular, the segment would show a compund annual growth rate (CAGR) of
50 per cent. The internet is used for doing transactions, chatting, offering opportunity for
the companies to sell their products.

In terms of value though, television would dominate the industry with the size growing
three times from Rs 14,800 crore to a whopping Rs 42,700 crore by 2010 with the CAGR
at 24 per cent.Subscription revenues which will be the key drivers for the growth, would
increase from the number of pay TV homes and increased subscription rates. New
distribution platforms like DTH and IPTV will only increase the subscriber base and push
up the subscription revenues.

The print media with current size of Rs 6,800 crore is gradually opening up to foreign
investment due to a booming Indian economy, growing need for content and government
initiatives. The sector with a CAGR of 12 per cent is estimated to grow to Rs 19,500
crore by 2010.

Radio, the cheapest form of entertainment could see some drastic changes. The
government has announced migration to a revenue share regime, permitting foreign
investment in the segment and allowing licenses to the private players.

The CAGR of the sector predictably so is 32 per cent and the segment size is forecast to
grow four times from the present size of Rs 300 crore to Rs 1,200 crore by 2010, the
survey said.Live entertainment industry, also known as event management, is presently
worth Rs 800 crore and is expected to grow to Rs 1,800 crore by 2010 with a combined
annual growth rate of 18 per cent.

Outdoor media sites, predominantly owned by small and local players, are likley to
evolve in India too in the short-term. The segment is currently worth Rs 900 crore and is
expected to grow by 14 per cnt (CAGR) to Rs 1,750 crore.Music sector, dogged by
problems of piracy, could see a revival of sorts with the growth of 'mobile music' and

12
licensed digital distribution services. The sector with a size of Rs 700 crore would grow
to Rs 740 crore by 2010 with a CAGR of merely 1 per cent, the survey added.

2.3 Indian Television - Flash Back

Television in India is undergoing significant changes in the current liberalized

environment. To understand these changes, one needs to have some brief idea of the road
covered by the television channels so far. The journey started as an experimental basis
with a financial grant from UNESCO in 15th September 1959. The makeshift studio at
Akashvani Bhavan in New Delhi was chosen for location of the experiment. The
experiment started with one-hour program, broadcast twice a week, on community health,
citizen rights, education and traffic sense etc. As far as news is concerned, it was
launched exactly six years after the inception of television broadcasting. Daily one-hour
program with a news bulletin was served to the Indian viewers. But one major drawback
of television was that you could not enjoy the original colour of the objects because of
black and white transmission. First multi-color programme was the Prime Minister’s
address to the nation from Red Fort in Delhi on India’s 35th Independence Day. In the
same day, DD National channel was launched. The aim of launching the National
channel is nurturing national integration, and inculcating a sense of pride in Indians.
Indian viewers also enjoyed the colored version of the Asian Games hosted by New Delhi
in their drawing room. The coverage of major events and different occasions lend a big
hand behind the infiltration of television signals to the nook and corners of the
subcontinent. Indian Government had taken all possible steps to expand the television
broadcasting demographically and geographically. In 1983 television signals were
available to just 28% of the population, this had doubled by the end of 1985 and by 1990
over 90% of the population had access to television signals. In 1984, DD Metro channel
was added to provide an exclusive entertainment for the urban viewers. In the beginning,
this channel was confined to metropolitan cities. As a public broadcaster, Doordarshan
presented the news in naturalized manner. All controversial issues were pushed under the
carpet. The ruling government had a strong hold on the television broadcasting.

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Doordarshan news bulletins were unable to provide the international news to the national
viewers. Objectivity had been the first casualty as news was invariably slanted to suit the
party in power. The news was liberated from the confines of the DD newsroom and
gained in objectivity and credibility when New Delhi Television (NDTV) produced ‘The
World This Week’ in 1988. Everyone was waiting for the Friday night to watch ‘The
World This Week’. This was the only India-based programme, which looked out at the
rest of the world. The World This Week was the best current affairs programme on the
international scenario and carried good stuff of news, which the regular DD news was
failed to carry out. This program is ranked as one of the country’s finest and most popular
television shows. In 1989, NDTV produces India’s first live televised coverage of the
country’s general elections. The critical and commercial success of the coverage sets a
new standard for Indian television. After the Gulf War the media panorama has changed
forever.

2.4 Golf War – The Catalyst

Post-1990 satellite television in India has become transnational in nature. It coincided

with the entry of multinational companies in the Indian markets under the Government
policy of privatization. International satellite television was introduced in India by CNN
through its coverage of the Gulf War in 1991. In August 1991, Richard Li launched Star
Plus, the first satellite channel beamed the signal to Indian subcontinent. Subhash
Chandra’s Zee TV appeared in October 1992. It is India’s first privately owned Hindi
channel to cater the interest of Indian viewers. This ignition followed by Sony and a little
later by domestic channels such as Eenadu, Asianet and Sun TV. Entertainment programs
had begun to occupy center stage in the organization’s programming strategies and
advertising had come to be main source of funding. Doordarshan’s earlier mandate to aid
in the process of social and economic development had clearly been diluted. Doordarshan
had faced a stiff competition in news and public affairs programming with international
channels like BBC and CNN. Doordarshan planned to sell some slots for news
programme under sponsored category. In February 1995, NDTV becomes the country’s
first private producer of the national news ‘News Tonight’, which aired on the country’s
government-owned Doordarshan set a new landmark for Indian television because of its

14
on-the-spot reporting with pertinent visuals. In the same year, TV Today Network
occupied a 20 minutes slot in DD Metro channel and aired a Hindi and current affairs
programme ‘Aaj Tak’. This programme became popular for its comprehensive coverage
and unique style presentation by Late S. P. Singh. Still we remembered the sign-up
message “Ye Thi Khabar Aaj Tak, Intizar. Kijiye Kal Tak”. Large number of viewers
across India had been watching Aaj Tak as a daily habit because of its innovative style of
news presentation. Besides that Nalini Singh’s five-minute fast paced, condensed daily
news capsule Ankhon Dekhi, TV Today Network’s Business Aaj Tak and Newstrack was
aired on the Metro channel of Doordarshan. This is the period when satellite channels
concentrated on entertainment programmes for their respective channels. Doordarshan
was still ruled the most wanted area ‘news’.

2.5 Major Players

Doordarshan’s monopoly was broken in 1992, when private television channels

infiltrated into the Indian boundaries and entertain the viewers as much as possible. In the
beginning of 1990s, the private channels offered only entertainment programmes. The
entertainment programs include family drama, comedy serials, children programmes,
cartoons, movies, talk shows, recipe shows, musical concerts, non-fiction programmes
etc. Private entertainment channels added some infortainment programmes to their Fixed
Point Charts (FPC). Keeping the demand of infotainment programmes in mind, the media
houses started to produce news magazines, entertainment magazines and news
programmes for different channels. India’s premier business and consumer news
broadcaster and a leading media content provider, Television Eighteen India Limited
(TV18) started India’s first ever entertainment magazine ‘The India Show’ on Star Plus
in 1993. This emerging media powerhouse provided prime time television content to
almost all leading satellite channels in India including BBC, Star Plus, Sony
Entertainment Television, Zee, MTV and Discovery. After The India Show, TV18
produced a weekly business news program India Business Report for BBC World. Indian
viewers had very limited options (like public service broadcaster Doordarshan, BBC and
CNN) for watching the television news. For televised news, the viewers had to watch
Dordarshan and some international news channels like BBC or CNN. In this race to

15
provide more news, more information, Zee Television jumped into the battlefield by
launching the news channel Zee News in 1995. This News and current affairs channel
revolutionized the way news was delivered to the viewers. Since its inception Zee News
has endeavoured to be the fastest to provide news, working towards a single goal of
Sabse Pahle (Always First). The other round-the-clock news channel, the Murdoch-
owned Star TV beamed its exclusively 24-hour news channels, Star News in 1998. Star
made a contract of five year with Prannoy Roy-owned NDTV (New Delhi Television
Company) to provide news content for this news channel. The untiring exhaustive
coverage of the Kargil war between India and Pakistan gained more publicity and
attracted more viewers towards the electronic channel. This televised conflict also sets a
news benchmark for wartime journalism. During the Kargil war, common citizens
witnessed how their brave Jawans fought despite in hostile conditions and watched the
war front live by the exclusively news channels, Star-TV and Zee-News. The live
coverage of the battlefield helped to create a euphoria of patriotism among the Indian
masses, which later facilitated into collecting huge funds for the welfare of the families of
Kargil martyrs. Every news programme draws the attention of large number of viewers
but Kargil war attracts private broadcasters to invest more money in the broadcasting
business by launching a news channel. In November 1999, TV18 entered into a 49:51
joint venture with CNBC Asia to launch CNBC India. TV18 is the sole program provider
to CNBC India, and produces 12 hours of local content per day on this 24-hour satellite
channel. After the huge success of news programme ‘Aaj Tak’, TV Today group
launched a 24-hour Hindi news channel with the same name ‘Aaj Tak’, in December
2000, which covers India with insight, courage and plenty of local flavour. Within 11
months of its launch, Aaj Tak emerged as India’s number one news channel and was
awarded Best News Channel award from Indian Television Academy Awards. Some
mega events apart from regular interesting items (such as Kandhahar hijack, September
11 attacks, Afghanistan war, attack on Parliament, Iraq war, Godhra carnage and riots)
have driven up the viewership. As time passed, NDTV’s five years contract with Star
group for outsourcing of news and related programming expired on March 2003. With
the expiry NDTV forayed into broadcasting business by simultaneously launching two
24-hour news channels; NDTV 24X7 – English news channel and NDTV India – Hindi

16
news channel, which targets the Indian diaspora across the world. News crazy Indians
received more news at faster speed from different channels. Any unusual happening can
be caught by the television camera anywhere form Rastrapati Bhawan to bedroom. The
power of TV journalism was become more visible by the major sting operations like
Operation West End and Shakti Kapoor Case. This style of investigative journalism has
brought about a change in the way we look at news, amidst new notions of editorial
freedom. The world’s largest family ‘Sahara India Parivar’ launched a 24-hour national
Hindi news channel, Sahara Samay, in March 28, 2003. It is the first ever city-centric
satellite news channels covering 31 cities in India with their own city news bulletins.
Keeping the demand of news in mind, the Union cabinet approved the proposal to
convert the DD Metro to DD news in a meeting held on 3 October 2003. Consequent to
these decisions, DD-News channel was launched on 3 November 2003. You might have
noticed that the news channels are language specific. But DD’s news channel contains the
round the clock news bulletins in Hindi/ English are also telecast twice a day on the
National Network of DD National. ‘Aap Ki Adalat’ fame Rajat Sharma, Sohaib Ilyasi,
the man behind the highly successful ‘India's Most Wanted’ and Taun Tejpal, editor-in-
chief of Tehelka roped together and launched a free-to-air Hindi news and current affairs
channel India TV on May 20, 2004. Indian viewers had more expectations from this
channel. The much-awaited news channel hopes to set itself apart from the existing ones
by setting new benchmarks of responsible journalism. Speaking on the occasion of the
launch, Rajat Sharma, chairman, India TV, said, “We aim to change the way broadcast
news reporting is being conducted in the country. India TV will set new benchmarks by
maintaining international standards of responsible and credible news reporting. We will
stay away from graphic depictions of violence and sensationalism of news. We will
uphold the viewer's right to correct information and their right to truth and verity. India
TV is not just a news channel, it is a movement.” NDTV as a pioneer in Indian television
news, set to create a fresh revolution in high-quality business news with the launch of
NDTV Profit. NDTV launched this 24-hour business channel on January 17th, 2005.
There is no saturation point in launching of news channel, just booming like sky as the
limit. Entertainment channel to infotainment channel, infotainment channel to news
channel, news channels to business channel and Business channel to lots more. Now the

17
satellite channels become more topicality with international standard. When we are
talking about topicality, CNBC TV18, the only business channel, continues to be the
medium of choice for India’s decision makers, affluent audiences across the country
since 1999. It has set the pace for the growth in number of television channels by
launching a 24-hour consumer channel in Hindi called ‘ Awaaz’. This news channel
focusses on empowering consumers on decision-making related to investment, saving
and spending. All the programmes are catering to consumers across different walks of
life, which included personal finance; variety of markets including commodity, stocks,
savings etc.; small businesses; education & career guidance; and verticals like health,
shopping etc. Another news channel was finally launched into the already cluttered news
space in Indian television. Jagran TV Pvt Limited's news channel, Channel 7 up-linked to
the air on 27 March 2005. The channel has been set up to cater to the vast Hindi-speaking
audiences, already being targeted by a slew of news channels. Channel 7 developed every
programme with a bid to cater to all types of audiences and not just pre-dominantly male
audiences who get attracted towards news channels.

2.6 Regional Leaders

To cater the interest among the Indians, Doordarshan televises programmes in Hindi and
associate Official languages. It has launched a number of Regional Language Satellite
Channels (DD - 4 to DD - 11 and DD - 13) and telecast programmes in Assamese,
Bengali, Gujarati, Malayalam, Marathi, Kannada, Telugu, Kashmiri, Oriya and Tamil.
The Regional channels relayed by all terrestrial transmitters in the state and additional
programmes in the Regional Language in prime time and non-prime time available only
through cable operators. The Doordarshan regional satellite channels telecast major news
programme with some entertainment programmes. If you think about the private regional
channels, they have followed the path of the Big brother (i.e Doordarshan). They are
neither completely entertainment channel nor exclusively news channel. They are
following the middle path and claiming themselves an infotainment channels. The private
channels televise through the state dominant languages. Rising advertising revenues and

18
increasing numbers of viewers have provided the impetus for many big players to enter
into the business. Some regional media leaders like ETV, Sun TV, Asianet have a strong
grip over the regional market. Some major players tried their luck in different states. Zee
television has three regional channels; Zee Marathi, Zee Punjabi and Zee Bangla. Star
Network entered into Tamilnadu by launching Star Vijay, one of the most popular
entertainment channels in India broadcasting in Tamil. Besides that ETV Network is a
part of the well-established Ramoji Group, has created 12 dedicated infotainment
regional channels. ETV network is the source of rich entertainment of eight different
languages. Those are: Telugu, Bangla, Marathi, Kannada, Oriya, Gujarati, Urdu; and
Hindi to viewers in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh. Every ETV
Network channel focuses exclusively on its audience’s unique cultural identity, its
aspirations and its distinct socio-political character. Let us think about the south Indian
language Telugu, there are around twelve satellite channels are roaming around the sky
with different taste and different flavour. These channels include three news channels,
one song-based channels and rest are infotainment channels. When we confine ourselves
into news, three channels (ETV2, TV 9 and Teja News) exclusively devoted to news
programmes. Sahara India Pariwar is proud to have five news channels as the bouquet of
Sahara Samay. These channels are: Sahara Samay NCR, Sahara Samay Mumbai, Sahara
Samay Bihar & Jharkhand, Sahara Samay Madhya Pradesh & Chattisgarh, and Sahara
Samay Uttar Pradesh & Uttranchal. Sahara Samay has already managed to gain a loyal
audience in India through a bouquet of National & Regional News Channels since its
launch. These channels are youthful and vibrant channels targeting students and women,
besides that hardcore news stuff. The regional news channels covers the entire spectrum
of genre with specific programs on lifestyle, fashion, food, shopping, health and fitness,
sports, education, career and city issues, besides giving user-friendly information on
traffic updates, city events, train and air timings, etc. Now national news channels cannot
confine its boundary to national level. They cannot ignore the regional news because of
the stiff competition form the regional cannels. Regional news channels are entering into
the competition with a strong will power and also with an aim to portrait regional issues
in national and international level.

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2.7 Scenario of consumer viewership of newschannels in India

According to industry data, the market for news channels has grown from Rs 200 crore in
2000 to Rs 310 crore in 2001. This is further expected to grow to Rs 500 crore in the next
two years. Says G. Krishnan, chief executive, TV Today, "The news channel market has
been on the upswing, and advertising revenues have been pouring in. In fact, all
categories of advertisers are flocking to the news channels because of the higher return on
investment offered by these channels as compared to the entertainment channels."

But is there really a market for a 24-hour English news channel in India? Aaj Tak's
Krishnan seems to think so. "There is a market for a 24-hour English news channel. Our
country has a 108-million strong English-speaking audience and no dedicated English
news channel. Moreover, by virtue of language, we are being restricted from reaching out
to viewers across the country. By launching an English news channel, we aim to capture
the news viewers across India, and retain a leadership position in the genre of news in a
fragmented viewership scenario," he says.

Moreover, officials point out that apart from the audiences in the metro, an English news
channel can help tap viewership in the South as well. Little wonder, TV Today is tar Like
in every category, there will be a few leaders capturing the bulk of the revenue pie, while
the rest will have to survive on what's left over," points out a media analyst. The category
is likely to get even more competitive as the increasing number of news channel jostle for
the highest number of eyeballs and advertiser attention.

But for now all eyes are set on the growing advertising pie for news channels. Apart from
growing viewership, another reason why news channels have attracted advertisers is
because of the low cost, thus enabling advertisers to increase the frequency of their ads,
says a media planner. According to media analysts, the low cost of spots on news
channels also provides the opportunity for the smaller advertiser to advertise on a

20
national media. "There has been some shift of advertising away from local print media
and local cable channels to news channels", says an analyst.

This trend is likely to continue, as more players will make the category grow.

2.8 India's great channel goldrush!

India’s media and entertainment segment is flourishing. Nearly 30 new television

channels -- national or regional -- in the entertainment and news genre are in the pipeline.
Already, over 250 channels beam over the Indian skies and reach nearly 70 million cable
and satellite TV homes.

In view of the growing craze of companies and individuals wanting to be part of the
action in the broadcasting space, it's imperative to ask some basic questions. First, why is
everyone so keen on owning a channel? Is the television business minting money? Again,
do we have the wherewithal to distribute them, and why should a viewer watch them?

One of the largest channel bouquets perhaps will come from INX Media and INX News
set up by former Star Group CEO Peter Mukerjea's wife Indrani. Mukerjea is bound by a
non-compete agreement with Star and cannot engage in the broadcasting business for the
next four months. But that hasn't deterred him from taking the plunge through his wife's
company along with former Hindustan Times editor Vir Sanghvi who will be CEO of the
news business.

On the anvil is an extensive 12-channel television network. Quiz Mukerjea, who seems to
spend more time in the Taj Mahal Hotel's tea lounge in Delhi than in Mumbai, about his
new business and he grins: "INX Global is a recruitment firm. So many new channels are
coming and I am hiring for those."

Television software company BAG Films' channel plans are also an open secret. Four
channels and an investment of Rs 400 crore (Rs 4 billion) is on the drawing board, say
company insiders. Plans are afoot to set up an earth station in the company's sprawling

21
Noida complex. Add to this another three channels from the NDTV stable that will hit the
small screen in the next six months.

A host of reasons, other than power and influence, are driving people into the television
business. For many the "churn" theory is credible. "The broadcast industry is cyclical in
nature and goes through a churn every 5-6 years.

"Look at English news. There are no clear market leaders today. Shares of Hindi news
channels also change constantly."there's a market for local and region-specific news
channels rather than at a national level.

The bullish industry reports also offer an excuse to take the leap. ADEX India, a division
of TAM Media, reports that television advertising grew at a healthy 22 per cent in 2006.

The latest PricewaterhouseCoopers report on the media and entertainment industry

predicts that the medium will continue to grow at 22 per cent Compounded Annual
Growth Rate (CAGR) for the next four years taking the television industry from its
current size of Rs 19,100 crore (Rs 191 billion) to Rs 51,900 crore (Rs 519 billion) by
2011.

Do reports exaggerate numbers? No "The industry is easy to understand. The Indian

economy is growing, and in a growing economy companies allocate more funds to
advertising."

India can take many more channels. Advertising is not dipping in a hurry." Many new
product categories such as healthcare and auto ancillaries will start using television for
commercials. "Five years ago who would have thought hosiery brands such as Lux, Amul
and Cozy would be big on news channels?" hannel owners are training their eyes on
subscription revenue as well. After all, at Rs 12,000 a year, it is almost twice the size of
television advertising estimated to be between Rs 6,000 crore and Rs 7,000 crore (Rs 60-
70 billion).? "This will grow to 25,000 crore (Rs 250 billion) in four years

22
In the absence of addressability and transparency in the cable business, hardly 12-14 per
cent subscription revenue accrues to the broadcasters. "With increased number of CAS
(conditional access system) and DTH homes, broadcasters must claim a 30-40 per cent
share of this revenue,"

Increased TV penetration also has potential. TV homes could grow from 112 million to
200 million. And cable penetration (read pay TV market) could grow from the current 70
million to all TV homes. Entry of CAS and new DTH players like Reliance ADAG and
Sun TV will expand the pay TV market.

"Organised distribution will boost revenues. So will the greater demand for TV software
in the export market and across media platforms. View this in the backdrop of 15-20 per
cent increase in ad spends plus further penetration of the medium. The short term story
looks positive,"

Is positive business outlook the primary reason for the explosion in the sector? Very few
industry experts admit it, but the single most compelling reason driving people into the
electronic media segment is the high valuations that the TV companies get.

"When companies with ad revenues of Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) get valued at Rs 2,000
crore (Rs 20 billion), people sit up and take notice." Besides, if you invest Rs 50 crore
(Rs 500 million) in a channel and sell it for Rs 150 crore (Rs 1.50 billion), it looks like an
attractive business to be in,

It's easy to be starry-eyed about valuations. Set up a TV company and take some known
faces on board. Get the company valued and sell small stakes to private equity investors.
"You are not putting in your own money and since the markets are buoyant, the game
seems to be working," says a media industry source. That is the crucial point. How many
television channel companies are profitable? Of the 10 Hindi news channels hardly three
are making money. The CEO of a news channel admits that it is making losses of nearly
Rs 5 crore (Rs 50 million) a month.

23
The state of the Hindi mass entertainment market is no different. You need a minimum
Rs 500 crore (Rs 5 billion) to set up one channel on the lines of, say, Star Plus. Media
industry sources say that of the top three channels in this category, one is already
bleeding, though financial details are hard to access.

Privately, top entertainment channel executives admit that their profit margins have been
squeezed by 20-30 per cent due to huge cost escalation and stagnant revenues.
Advertising is getting fragmented and at 15 per cent a year, growth rates in this genre are
slower than those in TV overall.

More channels mean more business for Rajesh Kamat, head of the TV production house
Endemol's India operation, but he's incredulous about its sustainable growth. "One
wonders about the kind of money being pumped in and whether the returns will be as
high. If you ask me, the ad pie is growing but not as much to accommodate such
expansion."

Besides, the distribution pipes are also choked and the growing subscription revenue
theory does not hold. "The distribution matrix will not change overnight. It will take at
least three years," says Sawhney. CAS isn't helping broadcasters either. In fact, pay
channels like NDTV have gone free to air in CAS notified areas to prop up their
declining viewership. "So what subscription revenues are we talking about here?" asks a
cable industry expert. The PE investors may have bought the addressability story but it's
not cutting ice with the consumer.

In the short term, the DTH growth story is also flawed. While the penetration of boxes
may improve, even DTH platform owners are constrained for capacity. There are simply
not enough transponders to take on so many more channels.

Besides, those waiting for broadcasters share of subscription revenue to improve may
find Sunil Khanna's remark impertinent: "Who says broadcasters will get more from the
Rs 25,000 crore that distributors will collect. There will be a fight for that money, too,"
says the head of Reliance's DTH business.

24
There are other challenges as well. The supply chain is choked. There is a shortage of
script writers and creative directors. "And where are the studios to create all this
programming? There is a tremendous shortage of floor space," says a senior Star India
executive. Clearly, the new broadcasters on the block will have to invest in their own
infrastructure.

Programming issues lead us to another question. Why should a consumer buy and watch
these channels unless there's startling content differentiation? Says Sunil Khanna:
"Advertising and subscription revenue will follow only if you have content which people
are willing to see and pay for." Agrees Timmy Kandhari: "The adage that 'content is king'
will be truer than ever before."

However, he does not believe people are being attracted to the segment for the sake of
valuations. "It is not a valuation game. The market is quite intelligent. The fact is, it's
expanding and of the total media market, television will be 50 per cent by 2011."

Also, you get a valuation when you have a footprint in the broadcasting market. "TV18
and NDTV have established themselves. New people coming in will have to first sell
their bouquets," says Kandhari. Adds TV 18 CEO Haresh Chawla: "If people are looking
at our valuation and starting a business, they must remember that we own all the must-
watch channel brands built over eight years."

However, Chawla says many serious long-terms players are entering the market too. "The
market may be fragmenting but it can absorb these changes. How many channels have
shut down in India in the last 10 years?" he asks.

While media industry experts are sceptical about over-expansion, they do not feel the
business will burst like the dotcom bubble of 1999. The economy will support the growth
though only the top four channels in each category will make money.

"The rest will either merge or be acquired," predicts Salil. His contention is that corporate
India will enter the broadcasting sector through acquisitions. "That will be the turning
point in the business," says Salil, as he takes a call from a shipping tycoon in Bangladesh

25
who hired Mediaguru to launch the country's first 24-hour private news channel. Maybe
Salil will need a still bigger office soon

2.9 Conclusion

Now the television industry becomes more specific. In this competitive market, channels
are targeting specific viewers. News channels attract more viewers beyond their target by
producing interactive and interesting programmes. Every channel needs to do an
extensive research on different concepts and different themes to attract more viewers and
in the same time more advertisers. After all, advertisements are the bread and butter for
the channels. With increased consumer preference for news programmes, television news
channels have grown faster than other niche channels. News channels are booming just
like sky as the limit. Those days are not far away, when we will get satellite news channel
for every major city in India. Staying in abroad, we can update ourselves about all the
happening of our hometown. Now news is not restricted to political happenings. It will be
extended its limit to every unwanted and hided corners of the society. At last we can
reach in the conclusion that anything, which is strange or disgusting, is news. There are
no rigid rules, which defines news.

26
 CHAPTER - 3

INTRODUCTION TO COMPANY

27
 ABOUT IBN 7

Khabar, Har Keemat Par

Changing the face of Hindi television news journalism

3.1 IBN 7 ETHOS

In the words of Rajdeep Sardesai "The ultimate star of a news channel is news. And that's
what people come to News channels for. That has been our focus at CNN-IBN and will
also be reflected in our news content in IBN 7. IBN 7 and CNN-IBN will complement
each other in serving robust and high quality news from every region of the country and
relevant global news."

Adds Managing Editor Ashutosh, "We have ambitious programming plans for IBN 7
including original content designed to appeal to viewers. The focus will be on building a
channel that reflects the moment and engages with viewers over important issues of the
day. Hard news will be our core offering as we feel sharpness in news has vanished from
Hindi news channels." Hindi television news journalism

3.2 IBN 7 PROMISE

 To treat news as sacrosanct
 To live the true promise of journalism

28
To be inclusive and interactive in news delivery
 To do whatever it takes to deliver credible news
 To bring India face to face with HARD NEWS

3.3 IBN 7 STRENGTHS

The channel is backed by a strong force of 4800 news professionals in India and
spearheaded by the stars of TV news journalism, such as Rajdeep Sardesai and Ashutosh.
With bureaus in every state capital and state of the art broadcast centres in Delhi and
Mumbai, it also gets news from other channels of Network18 - such as political news
from CNN-IBN, business news from CNBC-TV18, and the consumer angle from CNBC
Awaaz.

(6 AM TO 7 AM

Sunrise
Khabar updates you on everything that happened while you were sleeping. Be it politics,
sports, entertainment or business, everything you need to start your day. This is just the
programme for an individual wanting to bring himself abreast with the latest happenings
the world over, as he slept through the night.

29
 (7 AM TO 7:30 AM)

Newsbreak
A roller coaster of Khabar with previous day's recapitulation and setting the news agenda
for the day ahead. Get a peek into what stories made headlines the previous day and what
would set the agenda for the day to be

(8 AM TO 9:30 AM

Breakfast News
The breakfast show that sets the mood of the day. This show invites everyone to share a
hot cup of tea with IBN 7. Hosted by two vivacious & energetic anchors, this show will
give everything from politics to entertainment to sports to health tips to weather and
much more. This is a soft and feature news that caters to millions across the country with
the day's top news events with lots of input from sports and entertainment from India and
the rest of the world.

(10 AM TO 1 PM & 2 PM TO 5PM)

30
IBN 7 Live
Half-hour news wheel bringing Khabar to you as it happens, where it happens, har
keemaat par. A complete wrap-up of the events which are making the headlines. Its about
non-stop news from 'the location'

(1 PM TO 1:30 PM)

IBN 7 Lunch Special

Just the staple diet for news intake during lunch time with IBN 7 LUNCH SPECIAL. The
lunch show that helps you catch all the Khabar of the morning and updates you on all of
the day’s happenings, be it politics, sports or entertainment

(DAY: 1:30 PM - 2 PM)

Serial Jaisa Koi Nahin

Programme devoted to the big serials rocking the small screen. This show will cover TV
personalities and changing plots in the most talked about TV serials across all channels.

31
(5 PM TO7 PM)

Newszone
The evening show that gives you the day's top stories, with an emphasis on Khabar from
India's states having national appeal and flavour

(10:30 PM - 11 PM & 7:30 AM - 8 AM)

Sportszone
An omnibus show with sports news from all over the globe. This show will discuss and
analyze all the exiting sport stories, matches/series, results and performances. This
programme is just the balanced diet for a sports freak. This is a package for the sports
enthusiast that encapsulates the latest sporting action of the day. Specially conceived
format for an individual that gives him a comprehensive look at the sporting news of the
day.

(7 PM - 7:30 PM)

32
7 PM
The Khabar bulletin covering the entire day's stories. Fast paced and well-rounded, its
your one-stop destination for the entire day's news. A comprehensive half-an-hour show
that is a wrap of the day's events. This is the day's first comprehensive bulletin during
prime time that showcases all the top stories of the day.

(7:30 PM - 8:00 PM)

IBN 7 Special
A half-hour special on the day's top stories of human and social interest, hand picked by
IBN 7. After all, what matters is human values and existence.

(8 PM - 9 PM)

33
News Centre
The flagship one-hour news show, fronted by Sumit & Richa. This show encompasses
news from India and around the world covering all, be it - Politics, Metro News, Sports,
Lifestyle & entertainment with an in-depth perspective.

(9 PM - 9:30 PM)

News Express
In the age of instant coffee and fast food, everyone looks forward to instant ratification of
one's wants; so is the case when it comes to news. IBN 7 NEWS EXPRESS is just the
right destination. A fast paced half-hour coverage of all the news stories to get you in
tune with the day's happenings. This is the best show for all those who want maximum
news in the shortest time.

(9:30 PM - 10 PM)

Danke Ki Chot Par

This is a half an hour where Ashutosh deciphers the hot hardcore political story of the
day. With an ASSERTIVE and BOLD attitude, this program evaluates the news story
with an editorial opinion by Rajdeep Sardesai. This program also offers interactivity
Open to public opinion/vote through SMS.

34
(10 PM - 10:30 PM)

Big News
A half hour focused and in-depth analysis of the BIG story of the day having the highest
khabar value. It is about news as serious as it gets. Here it is not about how big or small
the fight is, it is about who emerges the winner at the end of it all.

(11 PM TO 11:30 PM)

Criminal
IBN 7 crime team will expose the most horrifying and outrageous crimes from across the
country. Anchored by Ms. Mandeep Bewli, this programme with a 'spare no-one' attitude
will have you glued to your TV sets

35
(12 Midnight TO 12:30 AM)

Final Report
The final bulletin of the day with the wrap-up carrying all the important khabar of the
day. The second half of the programme would have soft news focusing on lifestyle and
fashion. This is just the show for the working individual who wishes to get in tune with
the day's happenings and find out how the day unfolded.

36
 CHAPTER - 4

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

37
4.1 Purpose of the study:

The purpose of the study is to help channel make strategies for future course of action.
purpose of the study also includes to help channel gauge their current position in
competitive market through the results of survey conducted in Delhi, UP and Haryana.

4.2 Objectives of the study:

The project assigned to me is called “Viewers Perception on IBN7” one of the fastest
growing channel in Hindi news genre.

The main objective of the study was to conduct survey across Delhi, UP and Haryana to
accumulate and analyze the information gathered to study:

1. To know the popularity of Hindi news channels in these three cities.

2. To know the awareness of IBN7 in North India primarily in these three cities.

3. To find out how people rate IBN7 in comparison to other news channels.

4. To know impact of special stories covered by IBN7.

38
 5. To find out new ways which would add value to the channel and improve its
Viewership?

4.3 Research Design

A Research Design is the framework or blueprint for conducting the marketing research
project. The basic objective of research cannot be attained without a proper research
design. It specifies the methods and procedures for acquiring the information needed to
conduct the research effectively. It is the overall operational pattern of the project that
stipulates what information needs to be collected, from which sources and by what
methods.

The research design in this case is descriptive research. The major objective of
descriptive research is to describe something- usually market characteristics or
functions. Descriptive research has been done due to the following reasons: -

To determine the viewer’s perception about IBN7 i.e. how viewers perceive the channel
in terms of salient factors of the choice criteria.

To determine the degree to which marketing variables are associated.

4.4 TYPE OF DATA COLLECTED

There are two types of data used. They are primary and secondary data. Primary data is
defined as data that is collected from original sources for a specific purpose. Secondary
data is data collected from indirect sources.

39
PRIMARY SOURCES

These include the survey or questionnaire method, telephonic interview as well as the
personal interview methods of data collection.

SECONDARY SOURCES

These include books, the internet, company brochures, product brochures, the company
website, competitor’s websites etc, newspaper articles etc.

4.5 SAMPLING

Sampling refers to the method of selecting a sample from a given universe with a view to
draw conclusions about that universe. A sample is a representative of the universe
selected for study.

Convenience sampling is used in the research where the researcher is interested in

getting an inexpensive approximation of the truth. As the name implies, the sample is
selected because they are convenient. This method is often used during preliminary
research efforts to get a gross estimate of the results, without incurring the cost or time
required to select a random sample.

4.6 SAMPLE SIZE

The sample size for the The research was carried out in Delhi, UP and Haryana to know
the consumers perspective about IBN7.A sample size of 50 was taken in Delhi a sample
size of 25 was taken in UP and a sample size of 25 in Haryana Making it a total of 100.

In Delhi areas like Cannaught Place, Janakpuri, and R K Puram were covered. Offices
were picked on random and people were interviewed. Similarly in market places people
were chosen at random and were requested to answer to the questionnaire.

40
 CHAPTER 5
FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS

41
 Findings and Analysis

5.1 Findings in Delhi:

The 50 persons interviewed, following relates to the age groups as shown below:

Age Group Number of person interviewed

04-09 00
10-14 03
15-24 17
25-34 05
34-44 21
45-54 04

Table 5.1: Age-Group Distribution

45----54 04----0910----14
8% 0% 6%

15----24
34%

34----44
42%

25----34
10%

Fig 5.1: Age-Group Distribution

42
Out of 50 persons interviewed in Delhi 20 were students, 15 were servicepersons, 10
were housewives, and 5 were businessman.

Out of 20 students 12 were females and 8 were males.

Out of 15 servicepersons 10 were male and 5 were female.

43
5.2 People’s choices of media vehicle for advertisement:

Media vehicle No of people

Radio 02
TV 47
Outdoor 07
Print 09
Web 01

Table 5.2: People Choice for Media Vehicle

Liking of m edia vehicle

Radio
2%
3% T.v
14%

11%
Outdoor

Print

Web

70%

Fig 5.2: People Choice for Media Vehicle

Sample size 50
Hindi news channels viewers 43
Hindi news channels non viewers 07

44
 Table 5.3: Viewership Response about Hindi news channels

Viewers

Non Viewers

43

Criteria of people for selecting a news channel to view:

Criteria No of people in favour

Quality of news 41
Credibility 17
Repetitiveness of news 00
Mirch masala news 03

Table 5.4: Channel selection criteria to view

45
 NO of people

0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45

Quality of
news
41

Credibility
17

46
Repetitiveness
0

of news
Criteria

Mirch masala
3

news
Criteria For Selecting News Channel
5.3 Viewership details for IBN 7

12

Viewers
Non-Viewers

38

Fig 5.5 Viewership response about IBN 7

Are people aware of TV 18 as a brand?

18

Aware
Unaware
32

47
5.4 Comparison of IBN7 vis-à-vis other news channels

IBN7 vs. Zee News

35
30
30

25

20

15

10
6
5 2
0
Better Equal Under
performer performer performer

IBN 7 vs. ZEE NEWS

Out of 38 people who watch IBN7 30 people feels it better performer than ZEE TV.

Out of 38 people who watch IBN7 06 people feels it equal performer than ZEE TV.

Out of 38 people who watch IBN7 02 people feels it under performer than ZEE TV

48
 5.5 IBN 7 vs. Star News

30
26
25

20

15

10 8
4
5

0
Better Equal Under
performer performer performer

IBN 7 vs. STAR NEWS

Out of 38 people who watch IBN7 26 people feels it better performer than STAR NEWS.

Out of 38 people who watch IBN7 08 people feels it equal performer than STAR NEWS.

Out of 38 people who watch IBN7 04 people feels it under performer than STAR NEWS.

49
5.6 IBN 7 vs. Aajtak

20 18
18
16
14 12
12
10 8
8
6
4
2
0
Better Equal Under
performer performer performer

IBN 7 vs Aajtak

Out of 38 people who watch IBN7 08 people feels it better performer than Aajtak.

Out of 38 people who watch IBN7 12 people feels it equal performer than Aajtak.

Out of 38 people who watch IBN7 18 people feels it under performer than Aajtak.

50
5.7 IBN 7 vs. NDTV

20 18
18
16
14 12
12
10 8
8
6
4
2
0
Better Equal Under
performer performer performer

IBN 7 vs NDTV

Out of 38 people who watch IBN7 18 people feels it better performer than NDTV.

Out of 38 people who watch IBN7 12 people feels it equal performer than NDTV.

Out of 38 people who watch IBN7 08 people feels it under performer than NDTV.

51
5.8 Most popular programs on IBN7:

Name of the program Regular Viewers

Bhavishya 06
Mudda 28
Criminal 20
Campus calling 09
30

25

20

15

10

0
Bhavishya Mudda Criminal Campus Calling

Most Popular programs on IBN7

Exclusive stories covered by IBN7 which hold a recall value:

Name of the story Aware People

Sauraj –war with life 41
Maya –god men turns conmen 22
BJP CD 40
Shaitan baba 09

45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Suraj - War Maya - Godmen BJP CD Shaitan Baba
with life Turns Conmen

Fig 5.12: Most popular exclusive story coverage

52
5.9 Scope of improvement on IBN7 to improve its viewership:

Improvement Advices Vote of people

More special stories 32
More celebrity endorsements 12
More specialized programs 28
Comic shows 09
More celebrity interviews 15

Scope for Improvement

15
32
9

28 12

More special stories More celebrity endorsements

More specialized programmes Comic shows
More celebrity interviews

Scope for Improvement

53
5.10 Findings in UP and Haryana:

Out of 50 persons interviewed following persons relates to the age groups as shown
below:

Age Group Number of persons interviewed

04-09 00
10-14 05
15-24 08
25-34 13
34-44 11
45-54 13

04----09 10----14
45----54 0% 10%
26% 15----24
16%

34----44 25----34
22% 26%

Number of people Interviewed

Out of 50 persons interviewed in UP and Haryana 15were students,

20 were servicepersons, 08 were housewives, and 7 were businessman.

Out of 15 students 07 were males and 08 were females.

Out of 20 servicepersons 13 were male and 07 were female.

54
5.11 People’s choices of media vehicle for advertisement:

Media vehicle No of people

Radio 09
TV 41
Outdoor 04
Print 11
Web 02

liking of media vehicle

14% 2% 3%
Radio
11%
T.v
Outdoor
Print
Web
70%

Liking of media vehicle

55
5.12 Analysis of viewership of hindi news channels in Delhi:

Sample size 50
Hindi news channels viewers 46
Hindi news channels non viewers 04

Viewership Response
4

Viewers

Non Viewers

46

Viewership Responses about Hindi news channel

56
5.13 Criteria of people for selecting a news channel to view:

Criteria No of people in favour

Quality of news 43
Credibility 19
Repetitiveness of news 00
Mirch masala news 08

50
Viewers preferences for Advertisements
45 43

40
35
No of people

30
25
19
20
15
10 8

5
0
0
Quality of

Repetitiveness
Credibility

Mirch masala
news

of news

news

Criteria

Criteria for selecting a news channel

57
5.14 Viewership details for IBN7

Viewership Response
10

Viewers
Non Viewers

40

Viewership response about IBN7

Are people aware of TV18 as a brand?

Awareness of TV18 as a brand

22
Aware

28 Unaware

Awareness about TV18 as a brand

58
5.15 Comparison of IBN7 vis-à-vis other news channels

IBN7 vs Zee news

25
20
20
16
15

10

4
5

0
Better Equal Under
performer performer performer

IBN7 vs. Zee News

Out of 40 people who watch IBN7 20 people feels it better performer than ZEE TV.

Out of 40 people who watch IBN7 16 people feels it equal performer as compare to
ZEE TV.

Out of 40 people who watch IBN7 04 people feels it under performer than ZEE TV.

59
5.16 IBN7 vs Star News

30
24
25

20

15 12

10
4
5

0
Better Equal Under
performer performer performer

IBN7 vs. Star News

Out of 40 people who watch IBN7 24 people feels it better performer than STAR
NEWS.

Out of 40 people who watch IBN7 12 people feels it equal performer as compare to
STAR NEWS.

Out of 40 people who watch IBN7 04 people feels it under performer than STAR
NEWS.

60
IBN7 vs Aajtak

25
20
20

15
12

10 8

0
Better Equal Under
performer performer performer

IBN7 vs. Aaj Tak

Out of 40 people who watch IBN7 12 people feels it better performer than Aajtak.

Out of 40 people who watch IBN7 08 people feels it equal performer as compare to
Aajtak.

Out of 40 people who watch IBN7 20 people feels it under performer than Aajtak.

61
IBN7 vs NDTV

16 15

14 13
12
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
Better Equal Under
performer performer performer

IBN7 vs. NDTV

Out of 40 people who watch IBN7 15 people feels it better performer than NDTV.

Out of 40 people who watch IBN7 12 people feels it equal performer as compare to
NDTV.

Out of 40 people who watch IBN7 13 people feels it under performer than NDTV.

62
Most popular programs on IBN7:

Name of the program Regular viewers

Bhavishya 10
Mudda 35
Criminal 24
Campus calling 04
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Bhavishya Mudda Criminal Campus Calling

Most popular program on IBN7

Exclusive stories covered by IBN7 which hold a recall value:

Name of the story Awared people

Sauraj –war with life 44
Maya –god men turns conmen 14
BJP CD 36
Shaitan baba 16
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Suraj - War Maya - Godmen BJP CD Shaitan Baba
with life turns conmen

Most Popular Exclusively covered stories

63
Scope of improvement on IBN7 to improve its viewership:

Improvement Advices Vote of people

More special stories 22
More celebrity endorsements 18
More specialized programs 23
Comic shows 11
More celebrity interviews 15

Scope for Improvement

15 22
11

18
23

More special stories More celebrity endorsements

More specialized programmes Comic shows
More celebrity interviews

Scope for Improvement

64
 CHAPTER – 6
INTERPTATION OF FINDINGS

65
 SWOT ANALYSIS

Strengths

 88% of People who watch Hindi news channel watch IBN7.

 Almost 90%of the people who see IBN 7 can actually recall special Stories
covered by this channel.

 People appreciated this channel on the fact that it shows news in detail (some
happening of sparkling lights in sky was covered and all its history was very
intelligently broadcasted by the channel.)

 Almost every serviceperson and businessman interviewed in UP who watches

Hindi news channels also watches IBN7.

 IBN7 is rated third next only to Aajtak and NDTV in Hindi news channel genre
(credibility and quality of news being the criteria.)

 This channel is not at all metropolitan base as is the case with NDTV. Its reporters
have their presence felt even in small towns, which is really appreciable.

Weaknesses

 No recall for news anchors of IBN7 in the masses. (Should come up with more
outdoor activities or full fledged campaign)

 What people don’t like about it is repetitiveness of news e.g. recently covered

 People prefer NDTV than IBN7 in terms of quality of news.

 People expect more professional news from this channel.

66
Opportunities

 Almost 15% of Delhi’s population doesn’t see Hindi news channels because of
one reason or other, Can penetrate in to those non-viewers by finding reasons of
their non-viewership.

 The percentage of IBN 7’s viewers in comparison to all Hindi news channels
viewers is 85% still has a lot of scope for improvement.

 IBN 7 has been rated third position by viewers (credibility and quality of news
been the criteria) more credible and quality news can take them to number one
position.

Threats

 Entry of lots of new Hindi news channel like MH1.

 New news channel can affect market share.

 It can also affect the channel’s TRP.

 Shift in people taste and preferences in context to new Hindi news channels.

 People still have dogma that AAJTAK and NDTV are the best Hindi news
channels and
 They are not ready to change their perception.

 News is getting monotonous, need to evolve and innovate further.

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CHAPTER – 7
SUGGESTIONS

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Suggestions

 They should do more campaigns and events to increase their brand awareness.

 Channel should come up with more special programs (like career-oriented

programs.)
 Should take more peoples views and poll on different news, events & topics as
Aajtak does.
 They need to increase their availability in small towns.

 Should come up with more attractive and attention gathering anchors.

 People advised to add more comic shows on this channel.

 IBN7 should stop excessive repetitiveness of news.

 They should come up with more business programs.

 People are demanding more celebrity interviews & lifestyle programs on this
channel.

 Should do survey’s more often to know changing trends and people’s view about
the industry and about this particular channel.

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LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

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 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

• The study is based on the assumption that information provided by the

respondents is true.
• The study was limited only to North India.
• The mode of collecting primary data was only through questionnaire so there is
greater chance of biasness.
• Due to shortage of time and financial resources, a small sample size was taken.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

72
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

BOOKS

Malhotra, Naresh K., “Marketing Research-an applied orientation” Fifth Edition

 Nargundkar, Rajendra “Marketing Research – text and cases” Second Edition

WEBSITES:

http://www.agencyfaqs.com/main1.html

http://www.exchange4media.com/index_Sonymain231107.html

http://www.hindu.com/2007/11/23/stories/2007112355010900.htm

http://ibef.org/artdisplay.aspx?cat_id=173&art_id=13812

http://www.newswatch.in/news-analyses/markets-companies/7037.html

 http://www.ibnlive.com/shows/index.html

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APPENDIX

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Viewer ship response on IBN7

1. Name – ………………………..

2. Age Group- a) 04-9 b) 10-14 c) 15-24

d) 25-34 e) 35-44 f) 45-54

g) 55& Above

3. Sex - a) Male b) Female

4. Occupation - a) Student b) Businessman

c) Housewife d) Service man (private/public specify)

e) Others

5. Out of all you like to view advertisements on:

a) Radio b) T.V e) Outdoors

c) Print d) Web

6. Do you watch Hindi news channels?

A) Yes b) No

7. Which Hindi news channel you like the most?

a) IBN7 b) Aajtak c) Zee news

d) Star news e) NDTV f) INDIA TV

8. Your criteria of selecting news channel to view

a) Quality of news

b) Credibility

c) Repetitiveness of news

d) Mirch masala news

e) Others (specify if others)

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9. Can you recall any of the Anchor of any news channel you like the most?

…………………………………………………………………………….

10. Do you see IBN7?

a) Yes b) No

(skip if no)

11. Do you know IBN7 belongs to which brand?

a) India today network b) Star network c) TV 18 group

12. How you rate IBN7 in comparison to following news channels:

Zee news Star news Aajtak NDTV

a) Better performer Better performer Better performer Better

Performer

b) Equal performer Equal performer Equal performer Equal

performer

c) Under performer under performer under performer under

performer

13. Out of all programs named below how many does u know or see?

a) Bhavishya

b) Mudda

c) Criminal

d) Campus calling

(For all who said yes/no to ques no 10)

14. Can you recall any of the following special stories underneath only by IBN7?

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 a) Suraj –War with life

b) Maya-Godmen turns Conmen

c) BJP CD

d) Shaitan Baba

15. What according to you if added would give value to you as a Hindi news channel
viewer?

a) More special stories

b) More Celebrity endorsement
c) More specialized programmes
d) Comic shows
e) More celebrity interviews

(THANKING YOU)

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