With the boom of social media and digital platforms, everyone has been speculating the survival of linear television. The speculation is across genres and news channels are no exception. Will they pull through the digital era? The question was raised during the launch event of Madison’s advertising report for 2023.
In his address on the subject after the launch of the adex report, Avinash Pandey, CEO, ABP News Network, remarked, “From experts to drawing room pontiffs to expected wisdom seems to be that news will disappear from television sooner than later because it is more dynamic and freely available on digital devices now. Despite the naysayers and doomsday predictors, the medium survives not just in India but all across the world.”
Pandey underlined that as long as people are interested in watching news, it will be consumed across a variety of platforms as per the convenience of the consumer.
“Popularity and pull of TV news channels grew by leaps and bounds and the first decade of the new century saw channel after news channel joining the business. Even this year two news channels have been launched in the last two months,” he stated.
He simultaneously acknowledged that the smartphone has had a big impact on broadcast. “Most people began going towards digital and getting their news mainly through smartphones. Young Indians today, in particular, rely more on social media to find news than watching it on television or reading it on print,” he added.
On the challenges faced by the TV industry, Pandey said, “With the rapid shifting of audiences from television to digital, staying relevant in the broadcast media is actually a challenge and it is also a necessity to maintain long-term viability. Now how do we do that? Rather than hanging up our boots, news television is going through a period of rapid adjustments – essentially transforming from serving a TV-only audience at home, we are now serving audiences no matter where they are. Going from becoming a TV broadcaster to an overall broadcaster, the onslaught of the digital platform meant that news channels had to broad-base their landscape to stay with the times. So news channels actually have started expanding their reach to mobile phones, tablets, laptops, social media and then began uploading content on streaming platforms. News channels have not only made live streaming of their channel available on digital platforms but also made exclusive content available to digital audiences only.”
On the future of TV news, Pandey said, “TV news will survive the digital onslaught by adapting to the changing environments in the business. The future of TV news is based on the dynamics of the news-gathering and news presentation which will continue as the main product of TV and its distribution through different mediums today.”
