NBA represents selective organisation who have been crying foul: Arnab

The issue of use of multiple frequency feeds by channels has kicked up a major row in the news broadcasting industry, with Republic TV in the midst of it all. Arnab Goswami’s news channel venture received tremendous opening numbers in its first week of operations. BARC data for Week 19 show that Republic TV, within hours of its launch, began inching towards beating the leaders in the segment (All India 1 Mn+; NCCS AB Male 22+, All Time bands) with 52 per cent viewership in the first week of its launch. The channel garnered a gross viewership of 2,117 [BARC data for Week 19 (May 6-12) All India (U+R) : NCCS AB : Males 22+ Individuals] and was placed ahead of long time genre leader Times Now. 

Accusations and counter-accusations have been flying thick and fast in this row, with English news channels even deciding to pull out of BARC. 

Also read: BARC Wk 19: Republic TV opens its innings at top of English News genre

On impressive debut week

However, Arnab Goswami remains unperturbed by all the allegations and is happy about the debut week’s viewership data. He attributes the massive viewership that Republic TV has got in its debut week to its “great stories”, be it Sunanda Pushkar Murder Case, Lalu Prasad Yadav Tapes, Lakshar-E-Taiba and ISIS, great production quality, and great teamwork. He added, “Our journalists have taken genuine risks to go out and do the stories.” He also commended his distribution team headed by Priya Mukherjee, who has ensured that the free-to-air channel is available all across India. 

Shedding light on the viewing pattern of the channel, he added that during Prime Time, the viewership is 5-10 per cent more, while throughout the day it is close to 55-60 per cent. “I have never seen a more even distribution of viewership as yet, but maybe that’s because we are a big story channel, where we are covering one big story a day so the interest level of audience does not drop at any time.” 

Speaking on the channel’s distribution strategy for the debut, Priya Mukherjee, Head of Distribution at Republic TV, said, “The brief to the team was that we should be available to every single home in India, irrespective of the market. Our target was to be available on every single screen and every single TV in the country.” 

On allegations made against Republic TV

Reacting to the allegations made against Republic TV for running multiple frequencies, Goswami explained, “We are a free-to-air (FTA) channel and so anyone can put us in any slot and anywhere. We are not a paid channel. There are paid channels, too, that are operating on multiple frequencies and questions should be asked to them. An FTA channel can be available anywhere at any point of time and anybody is free to downlink us and telecast us – in India or the world. We are a non-encrypted FTA channel and hence, we really don’t control who distributes us where. We are grateful to them for distributing the channel where they want.” 

According to Priya Mukherjee, the whole multiple frequencies issue started with Headlines Today rebranding themselves as India Today Television, when it was used as marketing strategy at that time for the launch and it worked really well for them. It was again used at the time of the General Elections by Times Now by CNBC for the last Union Budget. She added, “We are a free-to-air channel and not a pay channel. We make our channel available to a network and whether a network runs it on one frequency or four or five, it is really not something which we can control. I really can’t understand what the hue and cry is about and why it has happened now. Anyone can carry us in as many frequencies as they want. It’s about people wanting to watch Arnab and we are available in the English news genre. If you look at what deals we have made, it is very clearly to be carried in the English news genre.” 

On NBA urging BARC to halt Republic TV's ratings

Speaking on the attempts of the News Broadcasters Association (NBA) to halt the release of the viewership data of Republic TV by BARC on May 18, 2017, Goswami remarked that one could understand why they were in a state of panic. He added, “I think the NBA should now operate as an independent broadcasting body and evaluate if there is a conflict of interest between the office bearers of NBA and some of the actions that they have been taking. We won’t allow such conflict of interest to continue because the head of NBA is also the CEO of TV Today Network and the Vice President of NBA is the CEO of Times Network. They are most affected by the ratings and hence, this raises very serious questions about the conflict of interest in their positions. It is also surprising because this issue came before our ratings were announced. What is more surprising is that they have not disclosed the fact that Times Network and India Today Television have dual frequencies in multiple places. They have concealed their own dual frequencies and attacked Republic TV. I think this is unfair and a reflection of great nervousness of some of these channels, but I am not moved by it.” 

Also read: English news channels opt out of BARC

On complaint filed by BCCL

Referring to the complaint filed by BCCL against Republic TV for “the commission of offences of theft, criminal breach of trust, misappropriation of property and infringement of IPR of BCCL by using the same on Republic TV on May 6 and 8, 2017, Goswami called it “a silly complaint”. He asked, “If Times Now had the Lalu tapes, why did they not put it on air for the last six months? Were they trying to protect Lalu? If they had the Sunanda Pushkar tapes, why did they not put it on air for the last six months? The Times of India Group must understand that news operates out of news rooms and not out of police stations. Prema Sridevi has put out a video testimony in front of the Delhi Police. During our time in Times Now, Prema Sridevi and I were asking the most questions about the Shashi Tharoor case. All the questions that we have asked in Republic TV now are the same questions that we had raised in Times Now as well. I challenge the Times Group to prove that they had the Lalu tapes.” 

Communication from TRAI

When asked whether he had received any communication from TRAI, said that no independent communication had been received from TRAI and added that the regulatory authority should investigate the dual frequencies used by the India Today Group at present and in the past, as there have been several complaints that when they rebranded their channel, they made extensive use of dual frequencies. “At that point of time, the NBA did not ask their ratings not to be disclosed,” he pointed out and adding, “These groups are misusing their position as members of NBA and it has, therefore, lost its stature and respect. My question to these groups is – Even if they had 100 frequencies, would they have been able to match our ratings?” 

Also read:Multiple frequencies row: Now, India Today TV trains its guns at Times Now

 On dual frequencies as a marketing tool

Goswami further stated, “Dual frequencies have been used by a lot of channels as a marketing tool, but this is not the area of jurisdiction of TRAI.” He affirmed that Republic TV has not been using dual frequencies as a marketing gimmick or to increase the ratings. 

Speaking on the competition, Goswami remarked, “I think they are completely paranoid. Am I responsible that India Today became 7 per cent and should I be held guilty for that? They tried some counter-campaigns or advertising. Stunts don't work, eventually what people see on television is the genuineness of the content.” 

He further said, “Times Now sent me a legal notice that I cannot use my name, ‘Arnab Goswami’, on Republic TV. I applied for a show with the name ‘Arnab Goswami’s Newshour’, post which the channel sent me a letter stating that if I use the word Arnab Goswami before Newshour it will be a violation. They wanted to prove that they own the word Arnab Goswami.” 

Also Read: BARC rejoinder: Channels use LCNs as mktg ploy

On strengthening reach

Meanwhile, speaking on the distribution spread of Republic TV, Priya Mukherjee said, “We have reached most of the rural places, places like Kanyakumari, Kutch, Arunachal Pradesh and Andaman Nicobar Island – we have not left out a single home. When you have that kind of reach, the viewership is bound to come. And once we provide the base, the content just builds on that and that is what we have concentrated on.” 

She further said, “We are still deep diving into the data and I cannot give precise numbers. The South market has surely contributed a lot, where we have seen 53 per cent market share, whereas the nearest competitor’s market share is 20 per cent. The South has thus really contributed.” 

Speaking about the distribution strategy going forward, Mukherjee said, “It’s about maintaining the reach and giving that platform to our content and editorial team. We will try to identify if we have left out any home and so we will maximise our reach.” 

On the road ahead

On the road ahead, Goswami said, “We have to look at the future, look at TV and digital together, and then think how we can grow this kind of journalism across the country and the entire world. This together will create a new wave of media in this country and I think the next five years will be the most glorious years for Indian media.”