Arnab Goswami endorses brands on-air; last-ditch attempt to save his embattling news network? asks industry

New Delhi: Republic TV Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami selling HMD phones and MDH spices on air has caused quite a stir in the news television industry.

Many industry observers see this as the ‘sad’ reality of Goswami’s media empire and also of the larger industry where channels are struggling to survive as adex growth has become negative.

Watch Goswami selling spices and phone:

Arnab Goswami selling MDH Masaale and HMD phones on air#arnabgoswami #republictv #republicbharat pic.twitter.com/quMR0iwm7t

— BestMediaInfo (@BestMediaInfo) August 21, 2024

Such announcements are common with Radio Jockeys where brands are offered “RJ mention” as an advertising opportunity.

Reality shows such as Bigg Boss and Kaun Banega Crorepati also have such announcements where Salman Khan and Amitabh Bachchan make brand mentions.

When asked what is wrong with news anchors selling products like entertainers, a media veteran invoked the sanctity of news anchors and turned into an ethical question.

"Can a reporter say that his readers or viewers should buy this or that brand? Isn’t it a journalist’s job to report on corporates and not endorse them?" the veteran quipped.

“Celebrities endorsing products or RJ mentions are different from news anchors doing it. This is indeed a moral and ethical question arising from the point of sanctity in the news genre. News channels survive on advertising including branded content but that was never mixed up with the sanctity of the anchors or promotions during live telecast,” the veteran said.

On the other hand, a few stakeholders are not surprised by Goswami’s actions.

“Arnab always broke ranks. Be it openly siding with a political party, resorting to all sorts of tricks to gain viewership or the recent anchor mentions. Many of us call Republic channels ‘live entertainment’ channels. On a lighter note, if Salman Khan or Big B can sell products, what’s wrong with him? After all, he considers himself to be a celebrity beyond news,” said an industry observer.

As an entrepreneur, Goswami has been actively ‘convincing’ advertisers to advertise on his channels.

As the news television industry is staring at weaker revenues in the coming quarters after the recently concluded general elections, some stakeholders found Goswami’s move to be a desperate attempt to safeguard his business.

“This is certainly not a happy situation to be in. News channels’ revenue model is broken. It is an entirely different discussion that it was none other than Arnab who attempted to ride on an unsustainable revenue model led by landing pages and expanding the channels beyond means and without putting a proper leadership structure in place. The huge cash burn and shortsightedness in terms of expansion has caused trouble for many players,” said the industry veteran quoted above.

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Goswami’s move apparently created ripples among other news broadcasters who fear this could lead to advertisers expecting their anchors to do the same.

Multiple news broadcasters told BestMediaInfo.com that none of their salaried anchors would agree to “anchor mention”.

“This has come as a surprise for us and the industry will have to go in a huddle and devise a way of navigating through this challenge,” said a senior broadcast executive on the condition of anonymity.