Media Entertainment & Art Community

The government is spending less than half of what it did seven years ago on print and television advertising, according to a response to Parliament from the information and broadcasting ministry on Tuesday. The ministry reported that it spent 424.84 crore and 473.67 crore on print and TV advertising in 2014-15, respectively, and 508.22 crore and 531.60 crore the following year. In 2016-17, the expenditure on print ads was roughly 468.53 crore and 609.15 crore on TV, which increased to 636.09 crore and 468.92 crore the following year. In 2018-19, it fell to 429.54 crore and 514.28 crore, respectively. In 2019-20, the spending was 295.05 crore and 317.11 crore. During the years when Covid was looming large, the government spent just approximately 197.49 crore on print ads and 167.98 crore on TV in 2020-21. Last year, it was 179.04 crore and 101.24 crore, respectively. This year, the government has spent 91.96 crore on print advertising and 76.84 crore on television advertising. The Central Bureau of Communication has been responsible for all expenditures.

On December 10, legendary athlete PT Usha was elected as the first woman president of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA). Usha, a multiple Asian Games gold medallist and fourth-place finisher in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics 400m hurdles final, was declared unopposed for the leading spot in the polls. The elections were overseen by retired Supreme Court judge L Nageswara Rao, who was appointed by the Supreme Court. According to reports, Usha’s election to the top job brought an end to the long-running issue in the faction-ridden IOA, which had been warned with suspension by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) if elections were not held this month. However, the polls were initially scheduled for December 2021. Nobody was willing to fight Usha, who was nominated to the Rajya Sabha by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in July, as the lone candidate for the top post. Apart from Usha, Ajay Patel of the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) was elected unopposed as senior vice-president. As vice presidents, Olympic medalist shooter Gagan Narang and Rowing Federation of India president Rajlaxmi Singh Deo were elected unopposed. Sahdev Yadav, president of the Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWF), has been elected treasurer. Former goalkeeper and All India Football Federation (AIFF) president Kalyan Chaubey was chosen unopposed as joint secretary (male). After a three-way battle, Alaknanda Ashok of the Badminton Association of India (BAI) was elected as joint secretary (female). Suman Kaushik and Shalini Thakur Chawla were also in the race. Usha, fondly known as the ‘Payyoli Express,’ was the first Olympian and first international medallist to represent the IOA in its 95-year history. She is also the first sportsperson to have represented the country and also elected IOA president since Maharaja Yadavindra Singh in 1934. Singh was the third president of the IOA, serving from 1938 to 1960.

IMDb released their coveted list of the ‘Most Popular Indian Stars of 2022’ on Wednesday. Dhanush topped the chart followed by Alia Bhatt, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, and Hrithik Roshan, among others. While Dhanush had five films released this year, including the ‘Russo Brothers’ ‘The Gray Man’ and the Tamil blockbuster ‘Thiruchitrambalam,’ in addition to ‘Naane Varuven’ and ‘Vaathi,’ Alia Bhatt had two hits — ‘Gangubai Kathiawadi’ and ‘Brahmastra,’ as well as one highly lauded Netflix project, ‘Darlings.’ Jr NTR and Ram Charan both appeared in the global hit RRR, while Kannada actor Yash began 2022 with a bang with his enormously popular actioner ‘KGF: Chapter 2.’ The list was compiled based on the number of users who visited IMDb. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Ram Charan Teja, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Hrithik Roshan, Kiara Advani, N.T. Rama Rao Jr., Allu Arjun, and Yash have all achieved coveted ranks on this prestigious list. “2022 has by far been the most wonderful year I’ve had at the movies—I am forever glad and grateful for the love the audience showed all my films this year and feel privileged to have partnered with our country’s best filmmakers and artists,” Alia Bhatt said in an interview with IMDb. “IMDb is a genuine monument to the people’s voice, and I aim to continue entertaining the audience for as long as I stand in front of the camera! Light and love. Thank you once again.”

Meta was fined $276 million by the Irish Data Protection Commission for its handling of sensitive user data. Following the recent announcements, the parent company of social media giants Facebook and Instagram will be fined more than $1 billion by European regulators. Ireland’s privacy watchdog also stated that this marks the end of their inquiry, which began in April of this year after the personal data of over 500 million users were leaked and published online. Meta has recently been the topic of much debate in Europe, with many claims of mishandling user data and various groups raising privacy concerns about the platforms. In 2019, 533 million users’ data were released on a private website, including their names, locations, and, in certain circumstances, email addresses. While the company claimed that the breach had been fixed, the authorities initiated an investigation, and they are now facing a slew of fines. The implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation, a European Union-wide law, is widely regarded as the global standard for online privacy. The fines were part of the process, and they raised the pressure on Meta, which was already facing significant losses. With the failure of the Metaverse, Meta has suffered a gradual decline in revenue over the last year, sparking rumours of Mark Zuckerberg quitting the firm as CEO. The company opted to terminate over 11,000 employees and stated that it will announce additional layoffs in the future.

The name, picture, or voice of Amitabh Bachchan cannot be used without his permission, the Delhi High Court ruled today while hearing the actor’s petition. The court also ordered that flagged content be removed by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and telecom service providers. “It cannot seriously be disputed that the plaintiff is a well-known personality and is also represented in various advertisements,” Justice Navin Chawla said, adding that the actor is “aggrieved” with people who use his popularity to market their goods and services without his permission. Amitabh Bachchan, popularly known as “Big B,” had appealed the court “against the world at large” to protect his “name, image, voice, and personality attributes.” “I am just giving a flavour of what is going on. Someone is making t-shirts and started putting his face on them. Someone is selling his poster. Someone has gone and registered a domain name, amitabhbachchan.com. This is why we have come,” Senior Advocate Harish Salve argued on behalf of Mr Bachchan. The megastar has also filed a restraining order against other businesses, including book publishers, T-shirt vendors, and others.

Piyush Goyal, the minister of commerce and industry, asked the entertainment industry on Thursday to self-regulate the content on television and over-the-top (OTT) platforms because some of it is not in line with Indian cultural norms. At the Big Picture Summit 2022, which was put on by the Confederation of Indian Industry, Goyal stated, “I do believe that some form of self-regulation within the media and entertainment industry is called for.” On the one hand, we talk about our culture, rich traditions, heritage, and family value systems, but on the other, some of what we see on television and OTT platforms is definitely outside the bounds of what is typically acceptable standards within the Indian cultural landscape, he added. He said that certain types of content wouldn’t ever be permitted to appear in a film and questioned why they might be permitted on an OTT platform.  “If you don’t selfregulate then there will be a clamour from society for the government to regulate… In the messaging, don’t give a message that’s completely disconnected with the Indian society,” Goyal said. Even though we appreciate modern content, the minister stated: “I do believe that some form of self regulation and some levels of decency in the presentation of India, Indian families and Indian culture is something where the captains of this industry should also be in a position to play a role. I wonder if any of the Indian families use the kind of language that is sometimes reflected on some of these OTT shows. I do not know if it helps in sell your product any better. I suspect not”.

Kantara, a film by Rishab Shetty, keeps setting new records every day. With its performance, this movie is once again making the Sandalwood industry proud after the enormous success of Yash’s KGF Chapter 2. The most recent information is below, and it pertains to the film’s global box office reaching 350 crores. The movie, which came out on September 30th, has been playing in theatres for nearly a month. Its 41-day theatrical run is over, but there are no signs that it will slow down. As of right now, the Hindi version is dominating the box office, and it will do so till the release of Varun Dhawan’s Bhediya and Ajay Devgn’s Drishyam 2 films. Speaking of the most recent box office results, Kantara has now surpassed the 350 crore mark. The movie has so far earned 277.20 crores nett in India (inclusive of all languages). Gross revenue is 327.09 crores. So far, it has generated a gross revenue of 28.10 crores in overseas markets. The staggering global total is currently 355.19 crores gross. Although Kantara still has some life in it, it’s unclear whether it will join the 400 crore club. Recently, Rishab Shetty and Sapthami Gowda, who plays his leading lady, were in the National Capital to promote their critically acclaimed film Kantara. Rishab was spotted donning a traditional south Indian attire. By being modest and working hard to promote the movie, the duo is capturing the hearts of people all around the nation.  The movie is currently running in theatres in Kannada, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam.

If you are a considerate subscriber and give your Netflix password to a friend or co-worker, the cost of your subscription is set to go up. In an effort to make more rogue subscribers pay up, the streaming giant will begin charging customers for password sharing from next year. In a letter to investors, Netflix stated that “additional member” subaccounts would be made available by the start of 2023. “We’ve landed on a thoughtful approach to monetizing account sharing, and we’ll begin rolling this out more broadly starting in early 2023. After listening to consumer feedback, we are going to offer the ability for borrowers to transfer their Netflix profile into their account, and for sharers to manage their devices more easily and to create sub-accounts (“extra members”) if they want to pay for family or friends,” the the company announced in the letter. The OTT platform added, “In countries with our lower-priced ad-supported plan, we expect the profile transfer option for borrowers to be especially popular.” The company didn’t reveal the cost of these new additional account fees when it confirmed the proposal on Tuesday. The premium for each extra member under this option, which is presently being tested in a few Latin American countries, is equal to around one-quarter of the price of a “regular” Netflix subscription. Netflix has previously experimented with a crackdown on password sharing. The company reportedly tested with an account verification tool to prevent unauthorised users from using other people’s accounts last year, according to The Verge. In an effort to kickstart its development, Netflix stated last week that a membership option supported by advertisements will launch in a dozen countries in November. According to Netflix COO Greg Peters, a basic subscription with ads will cost $6.99 in the US, which is $3 less than the basic subscription without ads. The time is ideal because the entertainment business is at a turning point in its development, according to Peters. In the United States, streaming has presently exceeded both broadcast and cable for total TV time. An industry first for Netflix, the ad-discounted tier will launch in the following countries: Australia, Brazil, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Spain, and the United States. The Netflix catalogue will be almost completely accessible, with certain content being withheld while new licencing agreements are being worked out. The length of each video ad will be between 15 and 30 seconds.

Roger Binny, a former star of the Indian cricket team and a part of the 1983 World Cup-winning team, was appointed as the 36th president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on October 18. The appointment of Binny, who will take over for former India captain Sourav Ganguly, was made public at the BCCI AGM in Mumbai. The 67-year-old former star of the Indian cricket team was the sole person to submit a nomination for the position of BCCI president. All of the upcoming office-bearers are expected to be elected without opposition, thus aside from Binny, the polls were merely a formality. According to a BCCI statement, the following individuals were chosen to serve as the organization’s new office bearers: (a) President: Mr. Roger Binny (b) Vice President: Mr. Rajeev Shukla (c) Secretary: Mr. Jay Shah (d) Joint Secretary: Mr. Devajit Saikia (e) Treasurer: Mr. Ashish Shelar. Binny said, “One representative of the General Body was elected in the Apex Council of the BCCI: (a) Mr. MKJ Majumdar. Two representatives in the Indian Premier League Governing Council were elected: (a) Mr. Arun Singh Dhumal; and (b) Mr. Avishek Dalmiya, ” Binny served as the president of the Karnataka State Cricket Association during his latest stint, and he had previously been a senior selection committee member while Sandeep Patil was the chairman.