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Communications, media and internet concentration in India 2019-2021
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Adrian Athique, Vigneswara Ilavarasan, Vibodh Parthasarathi, Tamanna Sharma, Pradip Thomas, M. Vyshakh

Global Media & Internet Concentration Project (GMIC) (2024), iii, 88 pp.

"During the survey period of 2019-2021, the Indian media economy grew by 21% to reach gross revenues of $US 66.52bn (excluding publishing). The overall pattern of growth was unevenly distributed across four component divisions: telecoms and internet infrastructure with growth of 23% (2021 revenues o ... more

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Digital Platforms and the Global South: Reconfiguring Power Relations in the Cultural Industries

Philippe Bouquillion, Christine Ithurbide, Tristan Mattelart (eds.)

London; New York: Routledge (2024), xiii, 239 pp.

"This book addresses the issues raised by digital platforms in the Global South, with an emphasis on the cultural stakes involved. It brings together an interdisciplinary team of researchers - including political economists, socio-economists, geographers, media sociologists or anthropologists - who ... more

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Media Influence Matrix: India. Funding Journalism

Vibodh Parthasarathi, Simran Agarwal

Budapest: Center for Media, Data and Society (CMDS) (2020), 40 pp.

"The largest players in terms of funding spent in the media are commercial advertisers. In 2018 advertising contributed €7.8bn to the media funding in India, an annual growth rate of 11.5%. Advertising makes the largest cut in the operating revenues of the news media. Subscription revenue does not ... bring in enough. The biggest advertising sectors across all news mediums include fast moving consumer groups (FMCG), services, automobiles, and banking and finance. Top advertisers include both domestic and international players such as Hindustan Unilever, Reckitt Benckiser, Amazon Online, Paytm, and Maruti Suzuki. In 2016-17, the advertising sector experienced a slump due to the implementation of the currency demonetization policy. However, multiple sports events, national elections in May 2019, and a significant contribution from political advertisements, from both regional and national political parties, boosted the sector’s revenue in 2017-18. Two large investors in the Indian news media include Mukesh Ambani and Subhash Chandra. Media is not their primary business. They run Reliance Group and Essel Group of industries, respectively, which are spread across a myriad of industries including petroleum, refineries, telecom, chemicals, textiles, packaging, oil and gas, precious metals, retail, infrastructure, digital services, to name just a few. Ambani ventured into broadcasting in 2011 when he took complete control over the Eenadu TV (ETV) network, broadcasting in numerous regional languages. In 2014, the Reliance group gained control of one of India’s largest news and entertainment television networks, Network 18. This included taking over of Network 18 Media and Investments Ltd and its subsidiaries TV 18 and Viacom 18 (a joint venture between TV 18 and ViacomCBS in India) in a €513mn deal. In 2016, he also started what has become one of India’s three largest mobile operators, Reliance Jio. Such vertical expansion was furthered in 2019 when he entered the television distribution segment by acquiring a majority stake in two of the three largest cable companies in India, DEN Networks and Hathway for €661m. Chandra, an MP, owns the Essel Group which runs one of India’s oldest and largest television networks with 14 news channels across eight language markets, operated by the Zee Media Corporation Limited, besides 35 entertainment channels across 19 languages, operated by Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited. This conglomerate is also vertically integrated through its subsidiaries in Direct-to-Home (DTH) and Cable distribution, Dish TV India Limited and Siti Networks Limited respectively, and horizontally integrated through its subsidiaries in print and film production, Diligent Media Corporation Ltd and Zee Studios, respectively. Politicians and their affiliates are major players in the regional news media. The Sun Group in the state of Tamil Nadu is owned by Kalanithi Maran, nephew of former chief minister of Tamil Nadu, M. Karunanidhi, and brother of current MP Dayanidhi Maran. The Sun conglomerate owns 33 television channels across six languages, 67 FM radio stations, three daily newspapers and numerous other publications. Also, vertically integrated, it owns Sun Direct, one of the largest DTH operators, and Sumangali Cable Vision, a prominent regional cable network. Similarly, in the state of Orissa, the Panda Family runs the Odisha Television Limited, cable networks through Ortel, and digital news assets. Baijayant Panda is a former MP, currently a member of the ruling party, Bharatiya Janata Party." (Executive summary, pages 4-5) more

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Platform Capitalism in India

Adrian Athique, Vibodh Parthasarathi (eds.)

Cham: Palgrave Macmillan (2020), xvii, 331 pp.

"This volume provides a critical examination of the evolution of platform economies in India. Contributions from leading media and communications scholars present case studies that illustrate the social and economic ambitions at the heart of Digital India. Across interdisciplinary domains of busines ... more

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Indian News Media and the Production of News in the Age of Social Discovery

Zeenab Aneez, Sumandro Chattapadhyay, Vibodh Parthasarathi, Rasmus Kleis Nielsen

Oxford: Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism (2017), 29 pp.

"This report examines the social media strategies of a sample of six leading English-language Indian news organisations, two newspapers (Hindustan Times and The Indian Express), two television stations (NDTV and News18), and two digital-born organisations (Firstpost and The Quint). The context is ex ... more

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Digital Technology and Journalism: An International Comparative Perspective

Jingrong Tong, Shih-Hung Lo (eds.)

Cham: Palgrave Macmillan (2017), xv, 367 pp.

"This edited volume discusses the theoretical, practical and methodological issues surrounding changes in journalism in the digital era. The chapters explore how technological innovations have transformed journalism and how an international comparative perspective can contribute to our understanding ... more

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Indian Newspapers’ Digital Transition: Dainik Jagran, Hindustan Times, and Malayala Manorama

Zeenab Aneez, Sumandro Chattapadhyay, Vibodh Parthasarathi, Rasmus Kleis Nielsen

Oxford: Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism;Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) (2016), 47 pp.

"In this report, we have analysed how the Hindustan Times, Dainik Jagran, and Malayala Manorama are changing their newsroom organisation and journalistic work to adapt to an increasingly digital media environment. Our analysis shows that all three newspapers are investing in expanding their digital ... more

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Mapping Digital Media: India

Vibodh Parthasarathi, Alam Srinivas

London: Open Society Foundations, Open Society Media Program (2012), 155 pp.

"The United Nations pointed out in 2010 that more Indians have access to a mobile phone than to a toilet. There are over 800 million mobile connections, although the number of unique users (excluding inactive connections) is estimated at around 600 million. Together with the fact that 60 percent of ... more

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The Handbook of Global Media and Communication Policy

Robin Mansell, Marc Raboy (eds.)

Malden, Mass.: Wiley Blackwell (2011), xiv, 579 pp.

"The Handbook of Global Media and Communication Policy offers insights into the boundaries of this field of study, assesses why it is important, who is affected, and with what political, economic, social and cultural consequences. Provides the most up to date and comprehensive collection of essays f ... more

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'Chindia' and Global Communication

Global Media and Communication, volume 6, issue 3 (2010), pp. 243-389

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L'idiot du village mondial. Les citoyens de la planète face à l’explosion des outils de communication : Subir ou maîtriser

Michel Sauquet, Vibodh Parthasarathi, Guy Poitevin, Cristiana Tramonte, Márcio Vieira de Souza

Bruxelles; Paris: Éditions Luc Pire;Éditions Charles Léopold Mayer (2004), 355 pp.

Communications, media and internet concentration in India 2019-2021 Top Insights

Communications, media and internet concentration in India 2019-2021
Top Insights