The Indian TV industry is growing at a break-neck speed. Out of these 150 or so channels over 50% are dedicated to news, or that is what they like to call it. The likes of Aaj Tak, Zee News, CNBC Awaaz, and even the stalwarts such as NDTV and CNN IBN .loose their focus and devote over 75% of their on-air time to covert something that is hardly news, the Nair-Hurley wedlock.
Who are these two people anyways? I don’t know and neither do 90% of the TV audience. S o why sideline other international events to telecast their wedding? The likes of AajTak have gone to great lengths to ensure that people consider them as PR channels rather than news. Who can ever forget the content they aired when the Abhishek-Aishwarya marriage was announced. They even went to Benaras and got hold o the pandit who would conduct the wedding ceremony. Not to mention, getting some astrologer to predict the future for the two. All one needed to get featured on AajTak was to cook up a song in the praise of the Bachchans, whether or not it rhymed was insignificant.
The point I am trying to make here is that why must international or national news be put on back burner every time a cricket tournament or celebrity event is organized? Why must I scour through a zillion news channels on weekends to find the one channel that has something other than cricket?
The world doesn’t come to a standstill on weekends, nor do criminals follow a five-day week so why do we viewers are forced to hear about what Sehwag’s doing to get his form back? Why can’t we leave the crickeeters alone to do what they are there for? Sehwag and everyu other Indian player is fully aware of what they stand to loose if they don’t do their bit in the world cup, they don’t watch AajTak to get their confidence going, so why must I?
Thank god for CNN and BBC.