India’s original ‘Election Man’ Prannoy Roy, Executive Co-Chairperson of NDTV, on role of television in the ongoing polls, noise versus content, what Narendra Modi has done right and why it makes no sense to ban opinion polls
By SIMRAN SABHERWAL AND ABID HASAN
The history of private news broadcasting in India probably has its genesis in New Delhi Television (NDTV). Since its inception in 1988, the channel and the face of NDTV, Dr Prannoy Roy, have always looked to maintain its credibility, staying true to its tenet of serious journalism. Suave and with a calm demeanour, Roy may seem an aberration to today’s generation of viewers used to high-decibel anchoring. With the long-drawn General Election process in its last leg, Roy, the original election man, is also the best person to speak about the evolution of Indian poll coverage over the years. While Roy believes that this is India’s first real “media-election”, he also shares his concerns about the beginning of the homogenization of the Indian voter on the back of explosive growth of news coverage. Drawing many parallels with the American elections, Roy looks at how political parties have handled the media and predicts that the next general elections will be social media driven. He also gives us his take on opinion polls and why in the era of tabloidization, NDTV channels attract a high premium from advertisers with quality content.
Having mentored many of today’s leading news channel heads, Roy takes pride in their success and quips that “no matter what persona they adopt on screen, they are off-screen good human beings”.
Meanwhile, as the NDTV network grew, spread its wings internationally and focussed on digital initiatives, Roy has shared the mantle of leadership in the NDTV Group with CEO Vikram Chandra.
REINVENTING THE BUSINESS
While the NDTV-TAM imbroglio is well documented, what caught us by surprise was the fact that NDTV recently re-subscribed to TAM. Commenting on this, Chandra says, “We have said from Day 1 that a better rating system is required but for the moment, everyone has to believe whatever data is coming out.” Chandra, however, remains optimistic that with the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) likely to be operational by October, a more robust and stable system will emerge by the year-end. While NDTV still maintains that there is a problem with TAM data, the media firm says that its stated concern for a better and robust rating played a role in kicking off the process for an alternative rating system. Chandra adds, “There’s nothing personal against TAM or anybody else. We said that the rating system needed to improve as a country of 1.3 billion people can’t be measuring advertising on this. That’s what our fight was about and now if we are getting the result then it’s great.”
Talking about the network, Chandra says the big bet is to revive its loss-making property, NDTV Profit and reinvent it as a 2-in-1 channel, NDTV Profit during business hours and NDTV Prime in the evening time band. Chandra tells us that the dual channel concept has made it the first Indian channel to be fully sponsored before it went on air. With the turnaround strategy for NDTV Profit in place, consolidation is now the key focus at NDTV. The group’s agenda is simple – recoup investments made over the past year on launches and profitability. Looking ahead, NDTV is betting on its digital platform - NDTV Convergence, maintaining its position in the lifestyle segment with improved programming on NDTV Good Times and also entering the entertainment space again – this time in the glamour and tinsel world of movies.
Here are excerpts from our conversation with Dr Prannoy Roy:
Q] You are the original election man on Indian television. How has election coverage evolved in India? How does coverage of the ongoing Lok Sabha elections compare to that of previous elections? What are the marked changes you see?
Perhaps the biggest difference is that this is India’s first real “media-election”. The role of television has increased exponentially and its impact has been the greatest so far – from the hundreds of regional channels, to the high profile national channels – the penetration and the impact has been considerable. When we visit villages deep in the rural areas, everyone seems to have a TV set and is much more aware of what’s happening than ever before. In fact, it has led to, perhaps sadly (I don’t know), a greater homogeneity in views across each state of the country. People in both villages and cities, who used to get their information from a variety of sources are now being bombarded with similar messages from a single source: television. And television sets seem to be everywhere – we visited one fairly poor home in a remote village in Bihar, occupied typically by a joint family. They had no luxuries or visible “comforts” but had three television sets. And when discussing elections it was clear that they were very well-informed – more importantly they spoke in the same idiom, using concepts, ideas and even metaphors that were common across the entire state. This election is about the beginning of the greater homogenization of the Indian voter – we are of course nowhere near as homogeneous as the electorate in the United States – we are just beginning on that path and one of the underlying causes is the media. From now on, no politician can win an election without winning the battle for airtime.
Q] Observers suggest that election coverage on TV this time has been Modicentric. Is the current election coverage personality-driven as against issue-based? Is it also about noise versus content?
It is true that in genuine democracies all over the world in the battle for airwaves, politicians tend to hit the lowest common denominator (if that’s what you mean by noise versus content). In the American elections for example, sleaze and personal attacks against opponents are common, not just in campaign speeches but even in the most low-level political advertisements. For a picture of what lies in store for future Indian elections – just tune in to the US elections and you can see where we are heading, in fact we have already got there in many aspects (right down to ‘vote banks’ – while our politicians appeal to caste and religion, US politicians appeal to the ‘African-American voters’ or the ‘Hispanic’ or the ‘immigrant’ and many other sub-categories of voters. India is not unique!). It may be an exaggeration but there’s an essential truth to the view that you can’t win elections in India any more unless you are an ‘acceptable face of television’. And there is little doubt that Narendra Modi and the BJP have handled all forms of media much more skillfully and strategically than any other party.
Q] Would you call NDTV’s poll coverage performance cutting edge? Do you think competitors have managed to be more seen and heard?
A recent nationwide survey of 90,000+ voters – that is a huge, huge sample – shows that 50% watch NDTV 24x7 while the viewership of both CNNIBN and Times Now add up to 50%. That is conclusive and as someone pointed out it is also ‘untampered’ evidence! More than that, our election coverage is exciting because it is more serious, less tabloid, less sensational – and we mean to keep it that way. NDTV is about serious journalism. We don’t have to shout and scream to be heard!
Q] Social media has emerged as perhaps the strongest and quickest source of information and debate in poll-bound India. How do you think this has impacted viewership of television news channels?
I honestly believe, not this one but the next elections are going to be centered around social media as much as television. With the imminent launch of 4G, and with the rapid spread of cheaper and better smart phones, social media users will quadruple by the time the next election campaign begins. Once social media users hit the 600+ million mark (which should happen well before the next elections) it will be a serious contender for the top spot in voter mind-space. It has already had an important role in these elections – and the future belongs to interactive, personalized, instant, real time, online media.
Q] How much has NDTV exploited the synergies between television, Internet and mobile during election coverage? Are you satisfied with the performance of your websites and app?
Wherever I go, everyone says to me that NDTV’s app and website are the best there is and a great value-add in their day. Our number of unique users, times spent and page views also indicate that our Internet team – an amazing group who I learn something new from every day – is the finest there is. NDTV’s Internet strategy is the next big thing for us – it is the future of NDTV and, honestly, of journalism.
Q] The News Broadcasting Standards Authority (NBSA) has issued guidelines that news channels need to disclose their political affiliation and resist all political or financial pressures that may affect election coverage. What’s your take on such guidelines?
Absolutely. I am totally in favour of transparency and openness.
Q] There has been a lot of controversy around opinion polls. What is your take on them?
Let me make just one or two points here: Unfortunately, the truth about polls is currently distorted by so much innuendo and misinformation. First, there has been tomes of research done into the impact of polls on voting behaviour – on the possibility of a ‘bandwagon’ effect versus an ‘underdog’ effect – and the conclusion of all this global research is that ‘opinion polls have zero impact on voting behaviour’. Now, banning anything is a major decision in any democracy (and I am deeply proud and’ like all of us, jealously guard our democracy in India). Therefore, before banning any process, any scientific procedure, there must be incontrovertible evidence to suggest that it is an activity with significant negative consequences. No such evidence exists. It is all based on conjecture, bias and fear. Those who fear that opinion polls have a bandwagon effect need to answer one question: when all the opinion polls were showing a victory for the BJP in the 2004 election, the bandwagon impact should have been an even bigger victory for the BJP – yet the BJP lost. Whither the ‘bandwagon’? There are so many issues about polls that I’d like to discuss but that’s for another time. One final point: polls can be wrong – after all, the BBC recently got its exit polls wrong twice in a row and nearly gave up exit polling; and in the latest US elections the great Gallup forecast that Obama would lose (in fact they had Obama trailing by a huge 5% margin until a week before the election) – these are caused by normal statistical errors, and that is no reason, no reason at all for banning anything in a democracy. From my experience, voters treat opinion polls with the scepticism they deserve. Banning polls is the thin end of the wedge. We must all fight against any kind of ban that is based on such flimsy evidence.
Q] All news channels look similar today in the matter of election programming. Why don’t we see innovative or clutter-breaking programming?
While I agree that tabloidization is the trend these days – in the desperate desire for eyeballs – I see an informed backlash happening at last. The backlash is coming from both viewers and from advertisers and ad-agencies. Advertisers are beginning to distinguish between high quality content – which they would like their product to be associated with – and not to be associated with low-grade tabloid news. I remember seeing a news channel lady anchor saying “break ke baad aap ko ek rape dikhayengey” – would any advertiser like to see their product follow those words? All across the world ad rates are not dependent solely on the number of eye-balls: serious journalism, like the Economist or The New York Times quite rightly get much higher ad-rates than their ‘eyeballs’ would command. This is now happening in India too. Our Hindi channel, NDTV India, gets premium ad rates because advertisers prefer to be associated with a high quality product like NDTV India that distinguishes itself from the crowd.
UP, CLOSE AND PERSONAL
The affable Dr Prannoy Roy gives us a peek into his personal life, talking about his wife and NDTV cofounder Radhika Roy, mentoring the likes of Arnab Goswami and Rajdeep Sardesai and escaping to his haven in the Himalayas
What is your comment on Radhika Roy as a life and business partner? How much of credit would you give her for NDTV, and for what Prannoy Roy is today?
Radhika, who was a print journalist with The Indian Express and India Today, for several years before studying television at NYU, is the founder of NDTV (I joined her later). If I had to say it in one sentence I would say that she is the one who has built NDTV into an institution, one which we hope will last 100+ years. Right from the start till today, she has been responsible for laying down and enforcing the highest standards of quality and ethics in anything and everything that NDTV has ever done... standards that are the bedrock of any great media institution. It is that ability to create and build an institution known for the highest journalistic, production and ethical standards that has been Radhika’s passion and most important motivation in the last 25 years and her single biggest contribution to the media sector in this country.
How has the journey been from ‘The World This Week’ to today, especially steering NDTV over 25 years? And where to from here?
It has been very hard work and it has been fun. These 25 have years have come together this year in three points of climax: First, the big show, ‘The 25 Greatest Living Indians’ had a huge response across the county which in itself was a major reward for all of us at NDTV. Second, in 2014, NDTV has been ranked as India’s Most Trusted brand across all types of media (across both newspapers and television). Third, to be the clear leaders in viewership (based on un-tampered numbers from a large sample of 90,000+ across rural and urban India) is another major reward. What a way to end 25 years!
You have mentored practically every television news personality in India today, some are in important leadership roles. Does that make you proud? What learning have you passed on to them?
Not only does it make us very, very proud to see them all doing so well – we are all still great friends. We miss them. And let me add, no matter what persona they adopt on screen, they are off-screen good human beings. I believe they have NDTV’s DNA ingrained in each one of them. And while many of our great producers and people behind-the-camera (perhaps more important than anchors or reporters) as well as anchors are with other channels - to be honest, the finest are still with NDTV.
You spend a considerable amount of time in Landour these days, away from the grimes of Delhi. What are your days like in the mountains?
Radhika and I try and spend three days a month in the mountains and we have close ties with the Himalayas. It doesn’t happen every month unfortunately – but it is a dream worth pursuing. I only wish we didn’t have wifi, mobile phones, Internet, DTH, smart phones, tablets, etc. in the Himalayas!
Feedback: abid.hasan@exchange4media.com
