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Coping with a sudden loss in federal funding, PBS affiliate KSPS in Spokane, Washington, faced a surprise extra hurdle. Many of its contributing members at one point almost half lived in Canada, and they were withdrawing support out of anger at President Donald Trump's desire to make the country the 51st member of the United States. When Congress decided this summer to eliminate USD1.1 billion allocated to public broadcasting, it left some 330 PBS and 246 NPR stations, each with unique issues related to their communities and history, to figure out what that means. Many launched emergency fund drives and are heartened by the response. The national NPR and PBS networks are reducing expected dues payments, and a philanthropic effort focused on the hardest-hit stations is taking shape. No stations have shut down, but job and programming cuts are already beginning. In Spokane, KSPS has always tried to keep its requests for member donations separate from appeals for public funding. Not
In a bid to encourage competition, the government has proposed to remove entry barriers for companies keen to foray in the sector of television viewership measurement ecosystem. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has proposed amendments to the Policy Guidelines for Television Rating Agencies-2014 to ensure that the TRP system reflects the diverse and evolving media consumption habits of viewers across the country. The proposed changes include the deletion of key clauses 1.5 and 1.7 that earlier restricted cross-holdings between rating agencies and broadcasters, advertisers, or advertising agencies. The Ministry has invited feedback on the draft amendments by August 1 from viewers, broadcasters, advertisers or concerned citizens. The Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) is the only agency providing TV ratings, but it does not track connected TV device viewership, despite it being a major trend. Currently, India has approximately 230 million television households.
Leading broadcaster ZEE Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) on Monday said it has entered into a strategic equity partnership with Bullet, a new-age content & tech start-up. ZEEL did not share much details on the transactions, but said "it will invest/acquire stake in Bullet". Co-founded by entrepreneurs Azim Lalani and Saurabh Kushwah, Bullet has developed India's first micro-drama application focused on fast-paced, creator-driven content through short duration vertical format episodes targeted towards the younger audiences. "Bullet will be launched within the ZEE5 ecosystem, leveraging its strong user base by enabling access to high-quality, bite-sized entertainment directly through the platform," according to a joint statement. Moreover, to have a pan-India appeal, the application will be available across languages and will harness the company's rich content engine and repertoire of language content, it said. The application will cater to the evolving consumption habits of ...
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on Wednesday released its recommendations on "Regulatory framework for Ground-based Broadcasters (GBB)" to fully leverage technological advancements for the delivery of television channels to distributors. TRAI has recommended that the GBBs' scope should be to provide television channels to distribution platform operators (DPOs) using terrestrial communication medium, for onward re-transmission. "A ground-based broadcaster may use any terrestrial communication medium(s), for delivery of channels to the DPOs. There shall be no restriction on the use of terrestrial communication technologies/systems and the entity may use more than one such systems, as per its business decision," it said. The advancement of technology has made it feasible for broadcasters to provide their television channels to DPOs terrestrially also i.e. using terrestrial communication technologies like wireline or wireless, an official statement said. The terrestria
Every mobile user is a content creator and broadcaster and has the moral responsibility to ensure the veracity of the information shared by them, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting L Murugan said here on Thursday. Addressing a symposium on the 'Emerging Trends and Technologies in Broadcasting Sector' on the sidelines of the India Mobile Congress, Murugan said content was the "hero" of the emerging broadcast revolution and anybody providing good quality content would be successful. He said the government has recently approved establishing Indian Institute of Creative Technologies in Mumbai to promote the Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, Comics and Extended Reality (AVGC-XR) sector and encourage film-makers to 'shoot in India', utilising the talent pool and locations across the country. Murugan said that when a person publishes news or information, it is incumbent on him to authenticate it, verify it and ensure that it is correct. "We have the social responsibility,
The government is likely to reconsider the contentious provisions of the Broadcasting Services Regulation Bill that had raised concerns among online content creators as it sought to club them with OTT or digital news broadcasters. The Bill was released for consultations in November last year and a fresh draft was circulated among select stakeholders for their views. An official said that the government may be open to reviewing certain clauses of the Bill as it had drawn sharp reactions from a section of media representatives. Addressing a press conference here last week, representatives of DigiPub News India Foundation, an organisation representing more than 90 digital news publishers, and the Editors Guild of India said the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting held closed-door consultations with selective stakeholders and larger discussions with digital media organisations and associations of civil society have so far not taken place. They had written to the Ministry seeking .
India-born media executive Dr Samir Shah was on Thursday confirmed as the new BBC chairman after his selection cleared the stages of scrutiny to be approved by King Charles III this week. Shah, who has worked in UK broadcasting for over 40 years, was picked as the government's preferred candidate in December last year and went on to be quizzed by cross-party MPs of the House of Commons Media Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee for his pre-appointment scrutiny. The 72-year-old has now been confirmed in the 160,000 pounds per year and four-year term role to take charge as the public broadcaster's first Indian-origin Chair from March 4 and running until March 2028. With a career spanning more than 40 years in TV production and journalism, Dr Shah has a wealth of experience to bring to the position of BBC Chair, said UK Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer as she announced his selection. He has a clear ambition to see the BBC succeed in a rapidly changing media landscape, and I have no
The Golden Globes have found a new broadcast home at CBS after the troubled awards show lost its longtime home at NBC and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) was dissolved after years of scandal. The 81st Golden Globes will air live on CBS and stream on Paramount+ on Sunday, January 7, CBS and the Globes announced Friday. The show will also be available on the CBS app. The network declined to comment on the terms of the deal, including how long the agreement runs for. NBC broadcast the 2023 Globes on a one-year basis after the 2022 edition was essentially cancelled. After a 2021 report revealed the Hollywood Foreign Press Association had no Black members, stars and studios boycotted the Globes before returning for this year's awards. After the 2023 broadcast, held on a Tuesday evening, NBC opted not to renew its contract. A near-record low of 6.3 million viewers tuned in, according to Nielsen. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association has since been reorganised and no lon