Business channel CNBC India today broke a story casting doubt on the efficacy of television peoplemeters in India, saying it was "not foolproof, not confidential and definitely open to manipulation."
CNBC reporter Naomi Dutta had with her the full list of 627 households supplied with peoplemeters that make up the sample population used by the two market research agencies - ORG MARG‘s Intam ratings and AC Nielsen‘s TAM data - to calculate television ratings points (TRPs) in the city of Mumbai.

The business channel‘s viewpoint is that the ramifications of a reporter getting hold of the list of members of the peoplemeter sample are enormous. "The reporter had no devious intentions," is the channel‘s view. "A motivated person getting hold of the list could doctor the ratings as and when they please."

Dutta was shown on CNBC today morning entering some selected households in Mumbai which had the elusive peoplemeters installed. The family members interviewed on the channel were quite comfortable with the use of the meters and most of the households shown had had the meters in their residences for at least two to three years.

Asked what benefits the they got from having the meters in their homes, the people interviewed said they got gifts from the ratings agencies during the festival season. Another observation is that the people interviewed were certainly not from the SEC A & B households that most media planners are sold on.

Among the industry people who were interviewed for their reactions was MTV India MD Alex Kuruvilla.

National Geographic channel has lined up a special series on Africa as a part of its programming initiative. The eight-hour long compelling series premiers on September 17, 2001 at 10:00 PM in India and presents Africa through the eyes of its inhabitants. Spread over eight episodes, the series captures personal stories and offers an intimate glimpse of life on the African continent as it is lives today, in cities and rural villages, said Vijay Raman, associate vice-president, programming, National Geographic Channel at a press briefing at south Mumbai‘s Taj Mahal Hotel on 31 August.

Wildebeest search for grass during the day‘s final light in the Masai Mara Reserve along the Serengeti Plain. During the dry season, the animals migrate more than 800 miles in search of food and water.

"Each episode of Africa combines the natural history of different African regions with the stories of contemporary people living there," says Raman. The series conveys the epic scale, power and beauty of the land and the heroism and dignity of the people who shape its future. Shot on a wide-screen super 16mm format, it reveals the enchanting beauty of landscapes and wildlife of the continent, a company release says.

A lone fisherman navigates his boat in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Tanzania‘s chief island, Zanzibar.

Filmed over two years across 16 countries, Africa is a production of Thirteen/WNET New York (Nature series fame) in association with Tigress Productions Limited and Magic Box Mediaworks Inc.

Three young Fula girls attend the Daral Festival in Diafarabe, Mali. They dress in their finest clothes to welcome home the village‘s young men, who return with herds of cattle after an eight-month absence.

"With these series we have set out to do something different - to look beyond the statistics and the calamities to find the human pulse of Africa. From Addis Ababa to Zanzibar, we travel throughout the continent to chart the hopes, dreams and ambitions of the people as they live their daily lives and make their way in the world," says Jennifer Lawson, series co-producer, whose inspiration for the series came from her experiences living in East Africa and traveling throughout the continent.

Built for speed and jumping, impalas roam over parts of eastern, central and southern Africa.

"In the coming days innovative and interesting promos will be aired on the Star bouquet to get in the viewers," says Raman. At the promotional level there are contests offering special prizes. Winners also get a trip to Africa, Raman adds.

Queried, as to how would a common viewer relate to the series, Raman said: "We are working towards bridging the progamme with the viewer connect. This will be done, albeit with a slight difference, and will unfold over the coming days through on air promos on the NGC and Star bouquet."

After going up to 18 hours (7 am to 1 am) in its Hindi programming band to build a viewer connect a number of interesting promos have been lined up.

And as part of its effort to develop India-specific programming, National Geographic has commissioned three stories from India on its Different Ball Game programme:-

Two of them being Kalarippayattu, the ancient martial art with its roots in the southern state of Kerala, and Bull Racing, a popular animal racing sport in villages where the bulls are decorated in all their finery before kicking off the game which draws people from villages all around being two of them.

Another India-centric series features ace Indian lensman Raghu Rai in Out There, a signature series exclusively aired on NGC. The series profiles gutsy explorers who are passionate about their professions and when out in the field will do anything to get what they are looking for.

National Geographic to speak more Hindi

Telecoms minister Ram Vilas Paswan apparently got his just reward for increasing teledensity in India during his two year tenure and piloting the Communication Convergence Bill 2001 into Parliament in a almost sneaky maneuver on the last day of the monsoon session.Paswan was shorn of his telecoms ministry charge on Saturday by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee - as part of a cabinet reshuffle over the weekend - and given the coal and mines ministry reponsibility.

Information technology minister Pramod Mahajan was given additional charge of the telecoms ministry in a move which is seen as the first steps towards the creation of a giant ministry of convergence. Observers expect the information and broadcasting ministry to go next under the convergence ministry umbrella.

Mahajan - who is a fund raiser for the Bharatiya Janata Party - is familiar with broadcasting as he headed the ministry three years ago, but was later replaced by current minister Sushma Swaraj. He told a press conference that "broadcasting does not really come under convergence as it deals with entertainment whereas communications and information technology have closer links."

Mahajan says he would like to see the Communication Convergence Bill 2001 enacted by August 2002.