company and is the nation's largest news broadcaster, synonymous with
credibility and quality.TVTN's brands include Aaj Tak, Headlines. Today,Tez and
Dilli ...
Market With 61 million plus cable & satellite (C&S) households (HH) as per the National Readership Survey (NRS) – projected to grow to 90 million by 2010 – India is the third largest Cable TV viewing nation in the world. With the number of television households estimated at 105 million in 2005 – projected to grow to 128 million by 2010 – the TV industry is only going in one direction – upward. News as a genre has registered a year-onyear growth of 12% between 2004/2005 and 2005/2006 (Source: TAM Media Research TG: CS 4+ yrs, Market: All India Channel Shares). This segment is one of the fastest growing, witnessing a phenomenal viewership growth rate over the past four years. TV Today Network (TVTN), India’s number one news network, is an India Today Group company and is the nation’s largest news broadcaster, synonymous with credibility and quality. TVTN’s brands include Aaj Tak, Headlines Today, Tez and Dilli Aaj Tak. Aaj Tak has a cumulative market share of 27% in the news genre, 42% more than its nearest competitor (Source: TAM Average of Weeks 1-28, 2006, 15+ yrs, All India C&S Homes). TAM Media Research is the TV ratings firm that measures and analyses the TV viewership patterns in India. In the last few years, Aaj Tak has played host to over 800 advertisers and 1400 brands in various categories. Introducing many new advertisers onto the television medium, the network expanded the advertising landscape in the country. With its effective management and strong partnerships, Aaj Tak has created a niche of its own by breaking the clutter in the news segment and bringing in a fresh perspective for the news genre in general and Hindi news in particular.
Achievements Aaj Tak is not only a pioneer in contentcreation it has also proven itself to be a resourceful and distinguished brand builder. It has achieved recognition on various national and international platforms. Most notably, in 2006, BBCReuters declared Aaj Tak as the most trusted media brand across all news channels, newspapers, magazines and other news sources in India (Source: C Voter/Globescan). Aaj Tak has won the Indian Television Academy award for ‘Best News Channel’ five years in a row, eight Indian Telly 8
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awards (including three for the News Channel of the Year) and a number of RAPA, Abby and marketing awards. Aaj Tak has also made its mark at international award ceremonies, having won several Promax & BDA awards for content and marketing, the National Association of Broadcaster’s Award (US) and the New York Festival Awards (US).
History TV Today Network was established in 1988 as a media content provider. In the span of a decade, it grew to become India’s foremost production house providing innovative and powerful content. Starting with India’s first video news
magazine – Newstrack – TVTN established its credibility through successful presentations of major live events like the union budget in 1997 and election results in 1998 and 1999. Aaj Tak began as a 20-minute daily news and current affairs programme on Doordarshan in 1995 and went on to become a 24-hour Hindi news channel on 31st December 2000. Aaj Tak established itself as India’s number one news channel within six months of its launch, dethroning established players. After consolidating its position, Aaj Tak – and its sister channel, Headlines Today – expanded the channel’s viewership base by taking the telecast to the UAE and the US, to cater to the information needs of Indians. To achieve its mission of capturing news as fast as possible from every corner of India and present it in an imaginative, memorable and accurate manner, Aaj Tak has built a team of dynamic professionals who represent the best expertise available in the areas of newsgathering, production and management. A network of stringers further strengthens the channel’s objective of providing continuous and timely news coverage around-the-clock. The newsgathering setup is complemented by state-of-the-art technology and infrastructure that includes lightweight cameras, online editing, newsroom automation and 3D graphics. The channel has uplink facilities from over 20 bureaus and OB vans to cover live breaking news as it happens.
Product Aaj Tak is TV Today Network’s flagship brand and India’s number one news channel. This leadership position is both in terms of market share and reach – the reach has increased many times over, in the past few years. In the current year, 63 of the top 100 programmes on all news channels belonged to Aaj Tak. (Source: TAM 15+ yrs, All India C&S, Weeks 1-28, 2006) Aaj Tak delivers the latest news in a viewer-friendly language – as and when it happens. News at Aaj Tak is on a reporter-led, ‘Breaking News’ format, based on consistency and credibility. It is this credibility which ensures that during any event of national or international importance, more viewers tune into Aaj Tak than any other news channel in India.
Promotion
Besides its unrivalled bulletin coverage, Aaj Tak has also pioneered feature-based programming within the news genre with leading shows like Seedhi Baat, Cinema, Khel, Vishesh and Dhan Daulat amongst others. Aaj Tak pioneered and took interactivity to a new level with its SMS short code 2424; for the news genre, this was a first, as it broke away from the one-way information dissemination model and encouraged two-way interactivity with viewers. The initiative has been very successful with millions of responses pouring in from every part of the country.
Recent Developments TV Today Network has recently launched the TV Today Media Institute to train budding journalists in the areas of TV news reporting, copywriting and news production. Despite its stringent admission procedures and norms the institute has met with overwhelming response. Also, recently, two 24-hour Hindi news channels have been added to the TVTN stables, Tez and Dilli Aaj Tak. As line extensions of Aaj Tak, both these channels draw on their mother brand’s infrastructure and credibility. Another notable development has been the launch of Aaj Tak and Headlines Today in the US. The network philosophy is to continue exploring international markets with a large Indian diaspora.
Aaj Tak’s basic strategy has been to capture the local Indian flavour and maintain an aggressive and fearless brand identity. The endeavour has been to create campaigns that SPUR the Indian viewers – campaigns that are Simple, Provocative, Unique and Relevant. Brand communication and promotion initiatives are rooted around these fundamental objectives. Aaj Tak, when it existed as a capsule on Doordarshan, enjoyed tremendous popularity and was known for its editorial integrity and speed of coverage. When Aaj Tak was launched as a 24-hour news channel on 31st December 2000, the concept of around-the-clock reportage was a relatively new one. To remind viewers that it was a 24-hour news channel, Aaj Tak, a category entrant, occupied the ‘24 ghante’ positioning. In time, as competition grew and positions began to come closer together and, often overlap, it became important for the brand to distance itself from competition and be differentiated in the category; this led to the new positioning – Sabse Tez – indicating the quickest time to the market. The ‘Sabse Tez’ communication soon transcended from simply
an editorial claim of the fastest coverage to a deeper meaning implying the most honest, reliable and smartest form of journalism. This brand philosophy was communicated brilliantly through satirical, tongue-in-cheek scripting in the Aaj Tak black and white films that now enjoy legendary status. The films were also able to firmly communicate the leadership position of the channel. The next step in the promotional journey of Aaj Tak was that of a category grower, communicated aptly by the ‘Aankhen Khol De’ communication. This again was depicted using black and white films and public service messages. As the nation’s best news channel, Aaj Tak has now become a category owner. The positioning
has, therefore, simply appropriated this space: News = Aaj Tak. Various promotional tools that have been used at Aaj Tak include SMS-based promotion, in-film placement, touch point promotions and various special programme tie-ups. The SMS-based promotion has encouraged phenomenal viewer interaction with Aaj Tak. The number of SMSs received in response to various initiatives like polls, messages, contests and the like over a period of two years from 1st May 2002 to 25th May 2004, was so huge that it earned an entry into the Limca Book of Records. Aaj Tak has tied up with action-packed films such as Dhoom and Apharan to reinforce synergy between the target audience and its promotional stance. The touch point strategy has revolved around capturing the target group wherever they would be likely to go – malls, cinema halls, restaurants etc.
Brand Values At Aaj Tak, the aim is to capture the changing face of India in the fastest, most imaginative, memorable and accurate manner. This aim nurtures fearless journalism and an uncompromising commitment to integrity in news coverage. Aaj Tak strives for both managerial and editorial excellence at all times in order to provide the best in news.
www.aajtak.com
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Aaj Tak Dominating the news space, Aaj Tak has won the Best News Channel award five years in a row at the Indian Television Academy. The Limca Book of Records has recorded an entry on Aaj Tak in the chapter on communications as the recipient of “The largest number of SMSs (over 10 million) received by a television channel as responses to contests, polls, etc. over a period of two years from 1st May 2002 to 25th May 2004.” A recent contest based on the FIFA competition raked in an overwhelming 450,000 SMSs in just three days. According to TAM (15+ yrs, all India, Weeks 128, 2006), 80% of the viewers of the leading English News channel and 86% of the viewers of the leading English Business News channel tune into Aaj Tak.
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