>Tayi Arajakate at 16:36, 9 July 2021

2021-07-09T16:36:27Z

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{{short description|Indian News Channel}}
{{Use Indian English|date=May 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
{{Infobox television channel
| name = Malayalam TV
| logo = File:Janam TV logo.png
| logo_size =
| logo_caption =
| launch_date = {{Start date and age|df=yes|2015|04|19}}
| slogan = We are the devotees.<ref name=":4" />
| owner = Janam Multimedia Limited
| picture_format = [[576i]] ([[Standard-definition television|SDTV]])
| language = [[Malayalam]]
| former_names =
| sister_channels =
| web = [http://www.janamtv.com/ Official website]
| sat_serv_1 = [[Dish TV]]
| sat_chan_1 = Channel 1975
| sat_serv_2 = [[Tata Sky]]
| sat_chan_2 = Channel 1850
| sat_serv_3 = [[Videocon d2h]]
| sat_chan_3 = Channel 614
| sat_serv_4 = [[Airtel Digital TV]]
| sat_chan_4 = Channel 838
| sat_serv_5 = [[Sun Direct]]
| sat_chan_5 = Channel 230
| sat_serv_6 = Airtel Digital TV
| sat_chan_6 =
| sat_serv_7 = DD Free dish
| sat_chan_7 =
| cable_serv_1 = [[Kerala Vision Digital TV]]
| cable_chan_1 = Channel 026
| cable_serv_2 = [[Asianet Cable Vision]]
| cable_chan_2 = Channel 128
| cable_serv_3 = [[DEN Networks]]
| cable_chan_3 = Channel 627
| iptv_serv_1 =
| iptv_chan_1 =
| iptv_serv_2 =
| iptv_chan_2 =
| iptv_serv_3 =
| iptv_chan_3 =
| iptv_chan_4 =
| online_serv_1 = Janam/Live
| online_chan_1 = [http://www.janamtv.com/live Watch Live]
}}
'''Janam TV''' is an Indian news and entertainment channel broadcasting in [[Malayalam language]]. It was launched on 19 April 2015.

==History==
In 2012, a promoter group consisting of Indian and [[non-resident Indian]] businessmen had applied for permission to launch Janam TV. The clearance for the launch continued to be delayed by the [[Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India)|Ministry of Information and Broadcasting]] (I&B) for two years. According to the COO Rajesh Pillai, the channel was flagged due to connections between the promoters group with the [[Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh]] and the [[Bharatiya Janata Party]], a claim that Pillai himself denied.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=Rao|first=Raghavendra|date=2014-06-23|title=Stuck for 2 yrs for 'RSS links', Kerala TV channel set to get clearance|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/stuck-for-2-yrs-for-rss-links-kerala-tv-channel-set-to-get-clearance/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-03-11|website=[[The Indian Express]]|language=en}}</ref>

In 2014, the ruling [[United Progressive Alliance]] government was dislodged from power and the Bharatiya Janata Party led [[National Democratic Alliance]] formed a new government.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2014-05-23|title=General Election 2014 verdict: The 'Right' Choice|url=https://www.livemint.com/Politics/JbejOIPbjaQiCOlx4HvleM/General-Election-2014-verdict-The-Right-Choice.html|url-status=live|access-date=2021-03-11|website=[[Livemint]]|language=en}}</ref> The I&B Minister, [[Prakash Javadekar]] took up the cause for issuing clearance for the channel. The [[Ministry of Home Affairs]] granted the I&B Ministry with a report which acknowledged the connections but dismissed any concerns over adversity with the company or its promoters group.<ref name=":0" />

It was reported that the Bharatiya Janata Party was attempting to raise the authorised capital of {{INRConvert|50|c|year=2014}} for the company.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Bamzai|first=Kaveree|date=26 April 2014|title=BJP's Kerala channel|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/glass-house/story/20140505-kerala-congress-cpim-tv-channel-802524-2014-04-26|url-status=live|access-date=2021-03-11|website=[[India Today]]|language=en}}</ref> Janam Multimedia Limited was the company which would operate the channel and the film director [[Priyadarshan]] was appointed as the chairman of its board of directors.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|last=Varma|first=Vishnu|date=2018-12-05|title='Right' views on Sabarimala helps Janam TV climb up ratings in Kerala|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/india/right-views-on-sabarimala-helps-janam-tv-climb-up-ratings-in-kerala-5479513/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-03-12|website=[[The Indian Express]]|language=en}}</ref> In February 2015, the [[United Arab Emirates]] based [[chartered accountant]] and the director of the proposed channel, U. S. Krishnakumar issued a statement that the capital had been raised and Priyadarshan denied that the company had any political backing while stating that the channel was owned by 5,000 shareholders who had made investments in the company. The channel went on air from 19 April 2015 onwards,<ref>{{Cite news|date=2015-02-18|title=Janam TV has no RSS or BJP backing: Priyadarshan|work=[[Business Standard]]|agency=[[Indo-Asian News Service]]|url=https://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/janam-tv-has-no-rss-or-bjp-backing-priyadarshan-115021800832_1.html|url-status=live|access-date=2021-03-11}}</ref> and was endorsed by the Kerala state president of the Bharatiya Janata Party.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Unnithan|first=P. S. Gopikrishnan|date=27 August 2020|title=Kerala gold smuggling: Customs question TV journalist, BJP denies ties with channel|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/kerala-gold-smuggling-customs-question-tv-journalist-bjp-denies-ties-with-channel-1715871-2020-08-27|url-status=live|access-date=2021-03-11|website=[[India Today]]|language=en}}</ref>

== Content ==
Among notable events in its news coverage, the channel promoted the idea that the Hadiya case was a result of [[Love Jihad]],<ref name=":13">{{Cite web|last=Varma|first=Vishnu|date=2018-12-05|title='Right' views on Sabarimala helps Janam TV climb up ratings in Kerala|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/india/right-views-on-sabarimala-helps-janam-tv-climb-up-ratings-in-kerala-5479513/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-03-12|website=[[The Indian Express]]|language=en}}</ref> a [[conspiracy theory]] developed by proponents of [[Hindutva]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Strohl|first=David James|date=11 October 2018|title=Love jihad in India's moral imaginaries: religion, kinship, and citizenship in late liberalism|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09584935.2018.1528209|journal=Contemporary South Asia|publisher=[[Routledge]]|volume=27|issue=1|pages=27–39|doi=10.1080/09584935.2018.1528209|issn=0958-4935|url-access=subscription|access-date=20 February 2021|s2cid=149838857}}</ref> During the protests over the [[Unnao rape case]] and the [[Kathua rape case]], it ran uninterrupted coverage of a "hoax hartal" in Kerala which depicted a violent ''[[hartal]]'' ({{Translation|[[general strike]]}}) by Muslim organisations.<ref name=":42">{{Cite web|last=Ramachandran|first=Rajeev|date=21 April 2018|title=A 'Hoax Hartal' and its Political Dynamics in Kerala|url=https://thewire.in/politics/a-hoax-hartal-and-its-political-dynamics-in-kerala|url-status=live|access-date=2021-03-12|website=[[The Wire (India)|The Wire]]}}</ref>

=== Sabarimala ===
The channel took a hardline stance against the [[entry of women to Sabarimala]].<ref name=":1" /> It ran continuous programming of the development around the dispute at the [[Sabarimala temple]],<ref name=":4">{{Cite web|last=Babu|first=Ramesh|date=2018-12-02|title=Sabarimala row fuels right-wing channel's growth in Kerala|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/sabarimala-row-fuels-right-wing-channel-s-growth-in-kerala/story-JFJFXDQOzGIbwHOriwUdcI.html|url-status=live|access-date=2021-03-12|website=[[Hindustan Times]]|language=en}}</ref> claiming that only it showed the "truth" about the events.<ref name=":1" /> Its coverage presented an alternate reality on the events at the site of the temple.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web|last=Kochukundy|first=Anand|date=24 October 2018|title=Rehana Fathima and police officials confirm she was not carrying sanitary pads to Sabarimala, meanwhile, Janam TV sticks to its false report.|url=https://www.newslaundry.com/2018/10/24/dear-smriti-irani-sabarimala-fake-news|url-status=live|access-date=2021-03-12|website=[[Newslaundry]]}}</ref> In one of its reports, it falsely reported that women were entering the temple with blood stained sanitary napkins and trying to throw them at the idol.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|last=M.K|first=Nidheesh|date=2018-10-25|title=Sabarimala shrine row, Stephen Hawking and the fake news scrouge|url=https://www.livemint.com/Politics/8GNhvtp5O75Z7zjCxHdTRO/Sabarimalashrine-row-Stephen-Hawking-and-the-fake-news-scr.html|url-status=live|access-date=2021-03-12|website=[[Livemint]]|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=24 October 2018|others=BoomLive|title=Debunked: Hoax Used by Right-Wing to Defend Smriti Irani's Misogynistic Sabrimala Comment|url=https://thewire.in/government/were-smriti-iranis-comments-on-sabarimala-fuelled-by-a-hoax|url-status=live|access-date=2021-03-12|website=[[The Wire (India)|The Wire]]}}</ref> The canard was picked up by a number of other websites and eventually referred to by the then I&B Minister, [[Smriti Irani]] as desecration of a sacred site.<ref name=":5" />

According to the data on television rating points of the [[Broadcast Audience Research Council]] (BARC), the channel became the second most popular news channel in the state,<ref>{{Cite web|last=Abraham|first=Korah|date=2018-11-02|title=In Kerala, a right leaning channel soars in ratings on the back of Sabarimala standoff|url=https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/kerala-right-wing-channel-soars-ratings-back-sabarimala-standoff-90949|url-status=live|access-date=2021-03-12|website=[[The News Minute]]|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":4" /> during the period between 3 and 9 November 2018.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|last=Janardhanan|first=Arun|date=2018-11-19|title=Pinarayi Vijayan: Comrade uncompromise|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/india/pinarayi-vijayan-kerala-government-sabarimala-women-entry-5451690/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-03-12|website=[[The Indian Express]]|language=en}}</ref> The rise in ratings of the channel was commended by the official Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh magazine [[Organiser (magazine)|''Organiser'']], which published an article stating that Janam TV would bring electoral gains for the Bharatiya Janata Party in upcoming election in Kerala and that it signaled a growing acceptance for Hindutva in the state. According to former representative and media critic [[Sebastian Paul]], the popularity was a temporary phenomenon and that the data itself was questionable due to the methodology used by BARC.<ref name=":12">{{Cite web|last=Varma|first=Vishnu|date=2018-12-05|title='Right' views on Sabarimala helps Janam TV climb up ratings in Kerala|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/india/right-views-on-sabarimala-helps-janam-tv-climb-up-ratings-in-kerala-5479513/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-03-12|website=[[The Indian Express]]|language=en}}</ref>

In 2020, BARC became the primary subject of a [[TRP scam|ratings manipulation case]]. During this period, the [[Whatsapp]] conversations of the CEO were leaked where it was revealed that he had discussed the ratings of Janam TV with his COO at the time of the Sabarimala dispute. The CEO in the conversation had also claimed that the [[Prime Minister's Office (India)|Prime Minister's Office]] had taken note of the rise in popularity.<ref>{{Cite web|date=16 January 2021|title=TRP Scam: WhatsApp Messages Reveal Arnab Goswami's 'Collusion' With Former BARC Chief|url=https://thewire.in/media/trp-scam-whatsapp-messages-reveal-arnab-goswamis-collusion-with-former-barc-chief|url-status=live|access-date=2021-03-12|website=[[The Wire (India)|The Wire]]}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{official|http://www.janamtv.com}}

{{Television news in India}}
{{Malayalam journalism}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Janam Tv}}
[[Category:Malayalam-language television channels]]
[[Category:24-hour television news channels in India]]
[[Category:Television stations in Thiruvananthapuram]]
[[Category:Television channels and stations established in 2015]]
[[Category:2015 establishments in Kerala]]

Janam TV - Revision history

>Tayi Arajakate at 16:36, 9 July 2021