Ravana's airforce: a report on the state of Indian television

Abstract

With over 800 television channels, India is not only the world's third largest television market but also its most varied. Indian television for the past decade has been defined by an upward trend of continuous growth – in viewership numbers, revenues and advertising – and equally with a severe crisis of content across genres. Overall, Indian television is beset by three fundamental challenges: a failure to evolve a comprehensive system of regulation, the increasing political control of regional television channels and distribution networks and a structural problem with its business model and delivery platforms, which is reflected in problems over quality of content.

Keywords:

• Indian television
• regulation
• regional television
• political control
• distribution
• content
• Zee TV
• Star TV

Notes

1. There is no such accepted archaeological or historical study by the Sri Lankan government. However, it is pertinent to note here that since 2007 the Sri Lankan Tourism Development Authority has made attempts to generate Ramayana-focused tourism by creating what it calls the ‘Ramayana Trail’ consisting of several sites said to be associated with the Ramayana. The trail was inaugurated in New Delhi in early 2007 and the Ministry of Tourism has also established a committee titled the ‘Ramayana Trail Executive’. Given the timing, it is possible that that the Zee report may perhaps have been prompted initially by these efforts. The Royal Asiatic Society of Sri Lanka has held at least two symposia on the ‘Ramayana Trail’, with senior archaeologists and historians and categorically stated that such sites have ‘no historical basis’. It has dismissed the Tourism Board's efforts as a ‘spurious invention of a ‘Ramayana Trail’ targeting a small segment of Indian travellers. See http://www.royalasiaticsociety.lk/2010/07/05/royal-asiatic-society-symposium-on-the-tourist-authorities%E2%80%99-%E2%80%9Cramayana-trail%E2%80%9D/ (accessed July 1, 2011). For a detailed critique of the Tourism Board's attempt to generate Hindu tourism and the serious question marks over its experts on the committee promoting the Ramayana sites, see the excellent summation by Goonatilake, ‘Introduction: Inventing Archaelogy’.

2. A small but revealing portion of the programme is available on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-vsRmOMC3g (accessed June 1, 2011). For contemporary reports at the time also, see, for instance, Bajpai, ‘It's a Big Blog World’ and EditIndia, ‘Zee News “Discovers” Ravana's Body’.

3. Anand and Khanna, Must Zee TV, 1.

4. The series was called Mil Gaye Ram (Ram has been found). For the reporter's account of the genesis of the series, see Sinha, ‘Tracing Evidence of Lord Ram and His Times’ and exchange4media News Service, ‘Zee News Seeks to Demystify Lord Ram All over Again’.

5. See, for instance, India's Television's telecast, portions of which are available on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVP5mRwvqos&feature=related (accessed May 1, 2011).

6. Estimate is by Uday Shankar, CEO, Star India. Quoted in Tanna, ‘Invest in Innovation’.

7. http://www.mib.nic.in/ShowContent.aspx?uid1=2&uid2=84&uid3=0&uid4=0&uid5=0&uid6=0&uid7=0 (accessed December 6, 2009).

8. Mehta, India on Television.

9. Registrar General of India, Projected and Actual Population of India.

10. India had 34,858,000 television sets in 1992. Joshi and Trivedi, Mass Media, 16.

11. There were estimated to be 120 million television sets in India by 2011. The population had gone up to 1.2 billion according to the 2011 census.

12. The National Readership Survey 2006 estimated 112 million television sets in the country. Industry estimates currently place the number of television sets at 120 million. Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, Consultation Paper on Policy Guidelines, 5

13. PricewaterhouseCooopers, The Indian Entertainment Industry, 36.

14. Indiantelevision.com, ‘Industry Needs to Invest in Talent: Uday Shankar’.

15. Quoted in ibid.

16. Mehta, ‘The do-good show’.

17. Quoted in Shashidhar, ‘Star's Leadership Status is Now History’.

18. Supreme Court Case 161 before Justices, P.B. Sawant, S. Mohan and B.P. Jeevan Reddy, Civil Appeals Nos. 1429-30 of 1995, The Secretary Information & Broadcasting, Government of India and Others versus Cricket Association of Bengal and Others, with Writ Petition (Civil) No. 836 of 1993, Cricket Association of Bengal versus Union of India and Others (decided on February 9, 1995).

19. In mid-2012, television broadcasters moved court to protest against yet another postponement of implementing deadlines by the Central government which was reacting to pressure from operators.

20. Mehta, India on Television, 120.

21. Indiantelevision.com, ‘IBF Approves Content Code for Non-News Channels’; Pandey, ‘Just Watch It’.

22. See NBA news release on December 18, 2008, http://www.nbanewdelhi.com/images/uploadfile/Microsoft%20Word%20-%20PRESS12.08_LATEST.pdf (accessed January 1, 2011).

23. See Jeffrey, India's Newspaper Revolution.

24. PTI, ‘Regional Channels Have Changed TV Consumption Pattern’.

25. Chhattisgarh was created as a separate state in 2002.

26. Interview with Sanjeev Singh, Principal Correspondent, STAR News, New Delhi: 25 January 2004. Designation is accurate as of time of interview.

27. Chakraborty, ‘Akali Dal Accused of “State Terror” on Cable Ops in Punjab’.

28. According to the estimate of Mahendra Mishra, TV9 Karnataka and News 9 Director; Mishra, ‘Politicisation of TV News Content in South India’.

29. Srivastava, ‘Cable TV War’.

30. Mishra, ‘Politicisation of TV News Content in South India’.

31. Srivastava, ‘Cable TV War’.

32. Mishra, ‘Politicisation of TV News Content in South India’.

33. Srivastava, ‘Cable TV War’.

34. Shukla, ‘TV Channels Storm Arena in Kerala's Political Battle’; also see Raman, ‘Down for the Count’.

35. Mehta, India on Television, see chap. 4 in particular.

36. Ibid., 140–93.

37. Singh, ‘Cable Bashing at Centrestage’.

38. Quoted in Sarkar, ‘Digitisation, Liberalisation Emerge as Keywords at FICCI FRAMES 2011’.

39. Uday Shankar quoted in transcript of Express Ideas Exchange, ‘Nobody Understands How the TV Ratings System Works. It's Totally Opaque’.

40. Ibid.

41. Mehta, ‘Do-Good Show’.

42. Singh, ‘Cable Bashing at Centrestage’.

43. Uday Shankar quoted in transcript of Express Ideas Exchange, ‘Nobody Understands How the TV Ratings System Works. It's Totally Opaque’.

44. Ibid.

45. Sardesai, ‘Prime Time Reservation’.

46. See, for instance, the chapters on Bengali and Tamil TV in Mehta, ed., Television in India.

47. Jeffrey, India's Newspaper Revolution; Ninan, Headlines from the Hindi Heartland.

48. Ranganathan, ‘Television in Tamil Nadu Politics’, 4949.