A special report by Vishal Saxena
- Media industry hurts badly. This report covers the pandemic impact on Media Industry.
(www.arya-tv.com)Covid 19 Shuts many business, deeply impacted on Media Industry too, Leading GEC & News channels are on urge of closers, AXN, AXN HD and Dilli Aaj Tak is going to disappear from TV screens soon.
Not just AXN & Dilli Aaj Tak, 40 more channels could shut down, TV industry fears.
Broadcasters have called for urgent govt intervention to ease the impact of the lockdown on the TV industry.
- With general entertainment channels AXN and AXN HD and news channel Dilli Aaj Tak set to go off air this month, the TV industry hurt deeply by the Covid-19 lockdown fears more casualties could be on the cards.
The Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI) announced this month that it will take its popular English entertainment channels AXN and AXN HD off air from 1 July 2020. The same day, Dilli Aaj Tak, a Hindi news channel that is part of the India Today Group’s media bouquet, will also disappear from television screens.
- The decisions come amid a dire situation in the television industry, which has taken a deep hit during the lockdown on account of shrunk ad revenues and stalled shoots.
- While the channels statements do not cite Covid-19 lockdown as the reason for the shutting of operations, industry sources said the lockdown had severely affected broadcast business.
- According to a BARC-Nielsen report from April, general entertainment channels alone have suffered a 26 per cent dip in advertisement revenue as compared to January.
- News channels have suffered too, with their high viewership during the lockdown not translating into advertisements and revenue.
- Ratings agency ICRA said Thursday the credit outlook is negative for film production and exhibition, print media and television broadcasting segments because of the Covid-19 impact.
Three channels to go off air AXN and AXN-India, which offered Indian viewers some cult international shows such as Sherlock and Sex and the City, reportedly rank among India’s top English entertainment channels.
Announcing the decision to take them off air, Sony Pictures Networks India told Dream DTH, that they are realigning the channel portfolio in keeping with the company’s growth strategy. Accordingly, we have decided to discontinue AXN and AXN HD, it said.
- India Today meanwhile, has pointed out in a BSE filing that Dilli Aaj Tak, which focused on news reports from Delhi-NCR, contributed less than 1 per cent of the company’s revenues in 2019-20.
The business of DAT (Dilli Aaj Tak) has not grown over the years, hence it is not viable to continue with the transmission and operations of DAT, it said in the filing dated 2 June, adding that some of the people working in the channel can be utilized more effectively in supporting the operations of the flagship channel of the company viz. AajTak.
- Industry insiders, however, said the existing jobs in the channels would not be affected as the staffers would be absorbed in other verticals.
30-40 channels expected to be hit. The Indian media & entertainment sector: including newspapers, news and entertainment TV channels, radio, and cinema is valued at Rs.1.82 trillion, according to the latest FICCI-EY report released last month. This marked a growth of 9 per cent over 2018.
- But it has been hit hard by the lockdown, which has taken a heavy toll on the economy as a whole.
An industry source said smaller players are likely to bear the brunt, adding that nearly 40 TV channels may shut down if the situation doesn’t improve. “We are estimating around 30-40 television channels will have to shut operations if the situation does not improve.”
According to the source, multiple industry bodies have sought relief on several counts from the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The government is yet to act on any of the measures suggested to revive the industry. In the current situation, an urgent intervention of the government is needed to ensure that the broadcaster’s payments are not affected.
The broadcasters have asked the I&B ministry to either issue an immediate advisory as a short-term measure or make a reference to TRAI. The industry has also submitted multiple petitions to the government to clear the advertising dues of over Rs.200 crore that the Bureau of Outreach and Communication (BOC), a unit under the I&B ministry that advises the administration on media strategy, owes small and medium broadcasters. Asked about the complaints, sources in the I&B ministry said they were actively working on clearing the dues of the broadcasters, adding that the limited staff of the BOC was proving a challenge.
- These immediate steps will go a long way in the restoration of normalcy in the broadcasting sector, the source said.
