
The body of television news broadcasters, the News Broadcasters Association (NBA), has decided to change its name to ‘News Broadcasters & Digital Association’ (NBDA).
NBA comprises news channels and commands over 80 per cent of TV news viewership in India. The board came up with the decision to rename to reflect the inclusion of digital media news broadcasters as its members.
NBA’s President Rajat Sharma stated, “NBA has decided to bring within its purview digital media news broadcasters. In its new phase, with the inclusion of digital media news broadcasters, the NBA Board has decided to change the name of the body from NBA to NBDA.
He continued saying that he firmly believed that the NBDA would become a strong collective voice for both broadcast and digital media. Along with commercial and regulatory issues, it would also enable the association to defend the fundamental right of freedom of speech and expression guaranteed to the media by the Constitution of India in a better manner.
Furthermore, the body explained the rationale behind the name and said, “With the media landscape having changed drastically due to technology, enormous choices have now become available to viewers to access content on various mediums and digital seems to be the future.”
14 years ago, NBA had launched an independent self-regulatory body, News Broadcasting Standards Authority (NBSA).