News Live 24x7 TV Advertising: Advertisement Rates, Prime Time Ad Spots & How to Book in India (Assam Channel Guide)

This article contains actual rate benchmarks, BARC viewership context, ad format specifications, and booking process details for News Live 24x7 — the kind of information that typically requires three vendor calls and two agency meetings to piece together. If you are planning a regional television campaign targeting Assam and Northeast India, read this before you commit a single rupee.

What Is News Live 24x7 and Why Should Brands Advertise on It?

News Live 24x7 is one of Assam's most-watched Assamese language channels, broadcasting round-the-clock news, current affairs, political analysis, and regional programming from its base in Guwahati — which makes it one of the few regional news channels in Northeast India with genuine 24-hour live production infrastructure. The channel reaches audiences across Assam through cable, DTH platforms including Tata Sky and Airtel DTH, and increasingly through OTT simulcast, which has extended its footprint well beyond the traditional broadcast geography. For brands targeting Assamese-speaking audiences — whether they are regional businesses, FMCG companies with Northeast India distribution, or government departments running public awareness campaigns — News Live 24x7 television advertising represents one of the most direct routes to a politically aware, news-consuming demographic that is notoriously difficult to reach through digital channels alone.

What a lot of people miss is that regional news channel advertising in India is fundamentally different from national news channel advertising, not just in cost but in audience behaviour. Viewers of channels like News Live 24x7 tend to be habitual, appointment-based viewers — they tune in at the same time every day, they watch through commercial breaks because they are waiting for the next news segment, and they have a much higher emotional investment in the content than, say, a general entertainment channel viewer who is half-watching while scrolling a phone. Our experience at SmartAds shows that brand recall on regional news channels frequently outperforms brand recall on national entertainment channels, even when the reach numbers are smaller, because the attention quality is categorically different.

The channel's programming structure — which includes morning news bulletins, afternoon roundups, prime time news magazines, and late-night political debates — gives advertisers multiple time band options to match their target audience's viewing patterns. A pharmaceutical brand targeting older, health-conscious viewers in Guwahati and district towns will find the morning time band particularly productive; a real estate developer targeting working professionals will find the prime time slot between 8 PM and 10 PM far more aligned with their demographic targeting objectives. This programming diversity, which is often underestimated by media planners who default to national channels, is precisely where the real value of News Live 24x7 advertisement planning lies.

What Are the Current Advertising Rates on News Live 24x7?

Frankly speaking, the rate card for News Live 24x7 ad rates is not something the channel publishes openly, and most platforms that claim to show "live rates" are actually showing outdated or indicative figures. What we can tell you — based on our media buying experience across Assamese language channels — is that the advertisement rates for News Live 24x7 follow a structure that most regional news channels in the Northeast adopt, with pricing tiered by time band, ad duration, and volume commitment. A 10-second ad spot during non-prime time on News Live 24x7 typically works out to somewhere in the ballpark of ₹800 to ₹1,500 per spot, which is a number that surprises most first-time regional advertisers when they compare it to what they are paying for digital video placements with far weaker brand recognition outcomes.

Prime time advertising on News Live 24x7, particularly during the 7 PM to 10 PM news magazine and debate programming, commands a premium that is typically two to three times the non-prime time rate — which means a 30-second ad spot in prime time can work out to roughly ₹4,000 to ₹8,000 per spot, depending on the specific programme, the season, and whether the booking is being made directly or through a recognised advertising agency with negotiated rates. For context, a comparable 30-second ad on a national news channel like Aaj Tak or Times Now in a similar time band would cost anywhere from ten to twenty times that figure, which is why regional channel advertising delivers such a favourable cost per reach for brands whose target audience is concentrated in Assam and Northeast India rather than spread across a PAN India geography.

The minimum campaign duration for a meaningful News Live 24x7 advertisement campaign is generally considered to be four weeks, which allows for sufficient frequency build-up to achieve measurable brand recall; campaigns shorter than two weeks tend to generate awareness without retention, which is a waste of the production investment. Volume discounts are available — and this is where working with a media buying agency genuinely pays off — because channels like News Live 24x7 offer significantly better rates on bulk FCT (Free Commercial Time) packages than on spot-by-spot purchases. At SmartAds, we have consistently negotiated 15 to 25 percent below card rate for clients who commit to monthly or quarterly packages, which effectively brings the cost per reach down to a level that competes favourably with even aggressive digital campaigns.

What Ad Formats Are Available on News Live 24x7?

The ad format menu on News Live 24x7 is more varied than most brands realise when they first approach the channel, and choosing the wrong format for your campaign objective is one of the most common mistakes we see in regional television advertising. The standard video ad — the TV commercial that runs in the commercial break — is the most familiar format; it is available in 10-second ad, 20-second, 30-second ad, and 40-second durations, with the 10-second ad and 30-second ad being the most commonly booked because they balance message delivery with cost efficiency.

Beyond the standard commercial break spot, News Live 24x7 offers several on-screen branding formats that provide brand visibility without interrupting the viewing experience. The L-Band ad — which is a horizontal strip that runs along the bottom of the screen while programming continues — is particularly effective for brand recognition campaigns because it keeps the brand name in view for extended periods without requiring the viewer to shift attention away from the news content. The Aston Band is a smaller, ticker-style text display that typically carries a brand name and tagline; the scroller ad runs across the lower third of the screen in a continuous loop, which is well-suited for promotional messaging like sale announcements or event promotions. The J-Band, which appears on the left side of the screen in a vertical strip format, is less commonly used but offers strong brand visibility during high-viewership programming because it occupies screen real estate that the eye naturally tracks during news broadcasts.

Show integration branding and sponsorship packages represent the premium end of the format spectrum on News Live 24x7. A programme sponsorship — where a brand is credited as the presenting sponsor of a specific news show or debate — delivers show integration branding through opening and closing billboards, mid-show mentions, and often a branded segment within the programme itself; this kind of association builds brand recognition through repeated exposure in a contextually relevant environment. Breaking news sponsorship is a particularly interesting format on a 24x7 news channel, because breaking news segments attract spike viewership that can be significantly higher than regular programming — and a News Live 24x7 breaking news sponsorship places the brand name at the exact moment when audience attention is at its peak. We have found, across multiple campaigns, that show integration branding on regional news channels delivers a brand recall lift that is disproportionate to the cost, particularly when the sponsored programme aligns with the brand's category.

How Does Prime Time Advertising on News Live 24x7 Differ from Non-Prime Time?

The prime time versus non-prime time distinction on News Live 24x7 is not simply about audience size — it is about audience composition, which matters far more for most advertising objectives. Prime time on a regional news channel like News Live 24x7 is generally defined as the 7 PM to 10 PM window, during which the channel airs its flagship news magazine programmes and political debate shows; this is when the channel's highest-income, most politically engaged, and most brand-responsive viewers are tuned in. Non-prime time — which covers the morning band from 6 AM to 9 AM, the afternoon band from 12 PM to 3 PM, and the late-night band after 10 PM — delivers a different audience profile that can actually be more valuable for certain categories.

To be fair, non-prime time on News Live 24x7 is significantly undervalued by most advertisers, and we have seen brands achieve excellent return on investment by concentrating their FCT in the morning time band rather than competing for expensive prime time spots. The morning news viewer in Assam — who is typically a working professional, a government employee, or a business owner catching up on overnight developments before heading out — is in a receptive, forward-planning mindset, which makes morning time band advertising particularly effective for financial services, insurance, education, and real estate categories. The cost differential between morning non-prime time and evening prime time is substantial enough that a brand can run three to four times as many ad spots in the morning for the same budget, which can actually deliver superior GRP (Gross Rating Point) accumulation over a campaign duration.

What a lot of media planners get wrong is treating the time band decision as purely a TRP-chasing exercise. A higher TRP programme does not automatically deliver better campaign outcomes if the audience composition does not match the brand's target audience; we have worked with a healthcare client in Guwahati who was initially insisting on prime time spots because of the TRP numbers, and when we modelled the actual demographic overlap between the prime time audience and their patient acquisition target, it turned out that the afternoon time band — which skewed toward homemakers and older viewers — was a far better fit. The campaign ran in the afternoon band at roughly 40 percent of the prime time cost, and the client reported a measurable uptick in clinic enquiries that they had not seen from previous prime time campaigns on the same channel.

How Is News Live 24x7 Viewership Measured by BARC?

BARC India — the Broadcast Audience Research Council — is the industry body that measures television viewership across India through its BAR-O-meter panel, which is a set-top box-based measurement system installed in a representative sample of households across the country. News Live 24x7, as a regional Assamese language channel, falls under BARC's regional measurement framework, which tracks viewership across markets including Assam and the broader Northeast India geography. TRP (Television Rating Point) data for News Live 24x7 is published weekly by BARC, which gives advertisers and media planning teams a relatively current picture of the channel's performance relative to competing channels like News18 Assam and Assam Talks.

The Television Rating Point system works by expressing viewership as a percentage of the target audience that watched a programme for at least one minute; a TRP of 1.0 means that one percent of the measured target audience watched the programme, which translates into a specific number of impressions depending on the total universe size for that demographic. For Assam regional channels, the BARC measurement universe is smaller than the national universe, which means TRP figures are not directly comparable to national channel TRPs — a regional channel with a TRP of 2.0 in the Assam market may actually be delivering a very healthy viewership number in absolute terms when you consider the total Assamese-speaking population. GRP accumulation across a campaign is the metric we use most frequently at SmartAds to evaluate whether a regional news channel campaign is delivering adequate reach and frequency against the target audience.

Here is where it gets interesting: BARC data for regional channels in Northeast India has historically been less granular than data for Hindi-belt markets, which means advertisers have sometimes been working with less precise viewership intelligence than they would have for a channel in Maharashtra or Tamil Nadu. The situation has improved as BARC has expanded its panel in smaller markets, but it is still worth understanding that the TRP figures for News Live 24x7 should be read alongside qualitative research and channel-level reach data rather than in isolation. Our media planning team cross-references BARC weekly data with platform-level subscriber numbers from DTH operators and cable network reports to build a more complete picture of actual viewership — which is a practice we recommend to any brand manager who is making significant budget allocation decisions based on regional channel data.

How Do I Book an Ad on News Live 24x7 Step-by-Step?

The booking process for News Live 24x7 television advertising involves several steps that are worth understanding before you begin, because the timeline from brief to first air date is longer than most first-time TV advertisers expect. The process typically begins with a media planning phase, during which the advertiser — ideally working with a media buying agency — defines the campaign objective, target audience, budget, and preferred time bands; this phase produces a media plan that specifies the number of spots, their distribution across time bands, the campaign duration, and the expected GRP delivery. Once the media plan is approved, the booking is placed with the channel's sales team, which issues a release order confirming the spots.

Creative material — the actual TV commercial or on-screen branding asset — must be submitted before the campaign start date, and this is where many advertisers run into avoidable delays. News Live 24x7, like most broadcast channels, requires video ad material in specific technical formats; broadcast-quality video is typically required in MOV or MP4 format at a minimum resolution of 1920x1080 pixels, with audio levels conforming to broadcast standards. L-Band, Aston Band, and scroller ad creatives are usually submitted as high-resolution image files, with CDR or AI formats preferred for vector-based designs that need to be resized without quality loss. A broadcast certificate — which is a mandatory clearance for certain categories of advertising, particularly pharmaceuticals, financial products, and government-related communications — must be obtained before the ad can be aired, and this certificate is issued by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting or the relevant regulatory body; the broadcast certificate process can take anywhere from a few days to several weeks depending on the category, which is why it should be initiated well before the planned campaign start date.

Ad monitoring is a critical part of the post-booking process that is often overlooked by advertisers who book directly without agency support. At SmartAds, we provide our clients with ad monitoring reports that confirm each spot was aired in the scheduled time band, which gives the advertiser an independent verification mechanism beyond the channel's own telecast certificate. If a spot is missed — which does happen occasionally, particularly during breaking news situations when regular programming is preempted — the standard industry practice is for the channel to offer makegoods, which are replacement spots of equivalent value; knowing this process and having it written into the booking agreement is something that an experienced advertising agency will handle as a matter of course.

What Is the Target Audience Profile of News Live 24x7?

News Live 24x7's audience is predominantly Assamese-speaking, concentrated in Assam's urban and semi-urban centres — Guwahati, Dibrugarh, Jorhat, Silchar, Tezpur — with meaningful penetration into district towns and rural areas through cable distribution. The demographic targeting sweet spot for this channel is adults between 25 and 55 years of age, which skews slightly older than general entertainment channels, and the audience has a notably high proportion of government employees, teachers, businesspeople, and politically engaged citizens who consume news as a primary media activity rather than a secondary one. This audience profile makes News Live 24x7 particularly valuable for categories like banking and financial services, insurance, healthcare, real estate, education, government public service announcements, and consumer durables — categories where the purchase decision involves deliberation and where brand recognition built through repeated exposure on a trusted news platform translates directly into consideration.

The gender split on regional news channels in Assam, based on BARC data patterns we have observed, tends to skew slightly male in prime time — particularly during political debate programming — while afternoon and morning time bands show a more balanced or female-skewed profile, which is relevant for brands in categories like health and wellness, food and beverages, and household products. What makes the News Live 24x7 audience particularly interesting from a media planning perspective is the geographic depth it provides: while digital advertising can theoretically reach the same geography, the actual penetration of digital platforms in Assam's district towns and rural areas remains significantly lower than television penetration, which means television advertising on a channel like News Live 24x7 genuinely reaches audiences that are not accessible through any other medium at comparable cost.

One thing we always tell our clients is that the Assamese news viewer is a highly loyal viewer — they have a channel preference that they maintain over years, not weeks, which means that a brand which establishes itself on News Live 24x7 through consistent advertising builds a kind of contextual association with the channel's credibility. This is the sight sound motion advertising advantage that television uniquely offers: the combination of visual brand recognition, audio brand recall through jingles or voiceovers, and the motion of a well-produced TV commercial creates a multi-sensory brand impression that static or even digital video advertising rarely replicates at the same emotional intensity.

How Does News Live 24x7 Advertising Compare to Other Assam Regional Channels?

The regional news channel landscape in Assam is more competitive than it appears from the outside, with News Live 24x7, News18 Assam (which is part of the Network18 group), and Assam Talks being the primary channels competing for the Assamese-speaking news audience. Each channel has a distinct positioning and audience profile, which means the choice between them is not simply a matter of picking the one with the highest TRP; it is a media planning decision that should be driven by audience composition, programming alignment, and cost efficiency relative to campaign objectives. News18 Assam, backed by the Network18 infrastructure, tends to have stronger distribution on national DTH platforms and a slightly more urban, upmarket audience profile; News Live 24x7 has deep roots in Assam's local news ecosystem and strong penetration in district-level markets that national-backed channels sometimes underserve.

From a pure cost-per-reach standpoint, News Live 24x7 ad rates are generally more accessible than News18 Assam's rate card, which reflects both the difference in network backing and the difference in national versus regional advertiser demand. For a brand whose target audience is concentrated in Assam — particularly in tier-2 and tier-3 markets — this cost advantage can be significant; we have modelled campaigns where a budget that would buy 200 GRPs on News18 Assam could buy 350 to 400 GRPs on News Live 24x7, which represents a substantially better return on investment for the same advertising spend. The right answer for most brands with meaningful budgets is a split between channels, which maximises reach while managing frequency — but for brands with tighter budgets, News Live 24x7 often delivers the better single-channel value.

It is also worth noting that News Live 24x7 is available on DD Free Dish, which is India's free direct-to-home platform and reaches a significant number of households in rural Assam that do not subscribe to paid DTH services; this DD Free Dish distribution is a reach multiplier that is often not fully accounted for in BARC panel data, because the panel's rural coverage in Northeast India is still developing. The OTT simulcast availability of News Live 24x7 — through its own digital platform and potentially through aggregator apps — adds a further layer of reach among younger, mobile-first viewers who consume news digitally but still follow the channel's content, which makes the channel's total effective reach somewhat larger than the broadcast-only TRP figures suggest.

What Is the ROI of Advertising on a 24x7 News Channel in India?

Return on investment in television advertising is a question that makes media planners uncomfortable because it resists simple formulas — but that does not mean it cannot be measured, and frankly speaking, the brands that refuse to measure it are the ones that end up making the worst budget decisions. The ROI of News Live 24x7 television advertising, like any news channel advertising, is best understood through a combination of reach metrics, brand recall studies, and downstream business indicators; the FICCI-EY Media & Entertainment Report has consistently noted that regional language television delivers among the strongest cost-per-reach figures in the Indian media landscape, which is a finding that aligns with what we observe in our own campaign data.

We worked with a retail client based in Guwahati — a mid-sized electronics chain with stores across five Assam districts — who ran a six-week campaign on News Live 24x7 ahead of the Bihu festival season, concentrating spots in the prime time band with a mix of 30-second ad TV commercials and L-Band brand visibility placements. The campaign delivered an estimated reach of roughly 8 to 10 lakh unique viewers over the campaign duration, based on BARC-derived reach projections for the channel in that period; the client reported a 34 percent increase in store walk-ins during the campaign period compared to the same period in the previous year, which they attributed — in their own post-campaign analysis — primarily to the television advertising campaign. The total campaign cost worked out to somewhere in the range of ₹4 to ₹6 lakh, which, against the incremental revenue generated, represented a return on investment that the client's management found compelling enough to commit to a quarterly advertising schedule.

On top of that, there is a brand recognition compounding effect that is harder to quantify but very real: brands that maintain consistent presence on a channel like News Live 24x7 over multiple months or years build an association with the channel's credibility and authority that functions as a trust signal for the audience. A financial services brand that has been advertising on a regional news channel for two years is perceived differently by that channel's audience than a brand that appears for the first time — and that perception difference translates into conversion rate differences that are difficult to attribute in a single-campaign ROI calculation but are very real in the long run. This is why we advise clients to think about regional television advertising not as a one-time activation but as a sustained brand building investment, with the understanding that the ROI compounds over time in ways that a single campaign measurement will always understate.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What are the current advertisement rates for News Live 24x7?

News Live 24x7 advertisement rates are structured by time band and ad duration, and while the channel does not publish a publicly accessible rate card, our media buying experience gives us a reasonable benchmark. A 10-second ad spot in non-prime time works out to roughly ₹800 to ₹1,500 per spot, while a 30-second ad in the prime time band — typically 7 PM to 10 PM — can range from approximately ₹4,000 to ₹8,000 per spot depending on the specific programme and season. These are indicative figures based on market intelligence; actual rates are subject to negotiation, volume commitment, and seasonal demand, with election seasons and major festivals like Bihu typically pushing rates 20 to 40 percent above base card rates. Working with a media buying agency that has an established relationship with the channel's sales team is the most reliable way to access rates below the published card rate.

Q: What ad formats are available for advertising on News Live 24x7?

News Live 24x7 offers a range of ad formats across both commercial break and on-screen branding categories. Standard video ad formats include the 10-second ad, 20-second, 30-second ad, and 40-second TV commercial, which air during scheduled commercial breaks. On-screen branding formats include the L-Band ad — a horizontal strip along the bottom of the screen — the Aston Band, the scroller ad, and the J-Band, which appears on the left side of the screen. Programme sponsorship and show integration branding packages are available for flagship news shows and debate programmes, which include opening and closing billboards and branded segment integrations. Breaking news sponsorship is a premium format that places the brand name during high-viewership breaking news coverage.

Q: What is the difference between prime time and non-prime time advertising on News Live 24x7?

Prime time on News Live 24x7 is generally the 7 PM to 10 PM window, during which the channel airs its highest-viewership news magazine and debate programming; this time band commands a rate premium of roughly two to three times the non-prime time rate and delivers the channel's most affluent, politically engaged audience. Non-prime time — covering morning, afternoon, and late-night bands — delivers a different audience composition at significantly lower cost, which can actually represent better value for brands whose target audience is more active in those time windows. The morning band, for instance, is particularly effective for financial services and healthcare advertisers targeting working professionals and older viewers, and it delivers strong GRP accumulation at a fraction of the prime time cost.

Q: How do I book a TV commercial on News Live 24x7?

Booking a TV commercial on News Live 24x7 involves a media planning phase, a formal booking with the channel's sales team through a release order, creative material submission in the required technical format, and — for regulated categories — obtaining a broadcast certificate from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting before the campaign start date. The process typically takes two to three weeks from brief to first air date if all materials are ready; the broadcast certificate process can extend this timeline for pharmaceutical, financial, or government-category advertisers. Working through a recognised advertising agency simplifies this process considerably, as agencies handle the release order, creative submission, and post-campaign ad monitoring on behalf of the advertiser.

Q: What is the minimum duration for a video ad on News Live 24x7?

The minimum duration for a standard video ad on News Live 24x7 is 10 seconds, which is the shortest FCT unit the channel sells as a standalone spot. A 10-second ad is sufficient for brand name recall and a single message, but most experienced media planners recommend a minimum of 20 to 30 seconds for any ad that needs to communicate a product benefit or a call to action beyond simple brand recognition. For on-screen branding formats like the L-Band and scroller ad, duration is measured differently — these formats are typically sold in units of programme duration rather than seconds, and they run continuously throughout the programme or segment for which they are booked.

Q: How does BARC measure viewership for News Live 24x7?

BARC India measures viewership for News Live 24x7 through its BAR-O-meter panel, which consists of electronic measurement devices installed in a representative sample of television households across Assam and Northeast India. The panel captures second-by-second viewing data, which is aggregated into TRP (Television Rating Point) and GRP (Gross Rating Point) figures published weekly. For regional channels like News Live 24x7, the measurement panel in Northeast India is smaller than in major Hindi-belt markets, which means the data should be interpreted with an understanding of the statistical confidence intervals involved; BARC has been expanding its panel in smaller markets, which is gradually improving the precision of regional channel measurement.

Q: Can I select specific time bands when advertising on News Live 24x7?

Yes — time band selection is a standard part of the booking process for News Live 24x7 advertisement campaigns. Advertisers can specify their preferred time bands (morning, afternoon, prime time, late night), and the channel's sales team will allocate spots within those bands based on availability. Programme-specific bookings — where the advertiser wants spots within a particular show rather than a general time band — are also possible, typically at a premium over the standard time band rate. Specific programme bookings are recommended for show integration branding and sponsorship packages, where the brand association with a particular programme is part of the campaign strategy.

Q: What is the reach of News Live 24x7 among Assamese-speaking audiences?

News Live 24x7 is one of the most-watched Assamese language channels in Assam, with weekly reach estimates — based on BARC data and DTH platform subscriber numbers — in the range of several lakh unique viewers across the state. The channel's reach is strongest in urban Assam, particularly in Guwahati and the major district headquarters, but its cable and DD Free Dish distribution gives it meaningful penetration in rural and semi-urban markets as well. The total Assamese-speaking television audience represents a significant demographic opportunity for brands with Northeast India distribution, and News Live 24x7's position as a trusted local news source gives it an audience loyalty profile that translates into above-average brand recall for advertisers who maintain consistent presence on the channel.

Q: How is News Live 24x7 different from other regional news channels in Northeast India?

News Live 24x7 is distinguished from other Assam regional channels by its focus on local Assamese-language news and its deep penetration in district-level markets across the state. Compared to News18 Assam, which benefits from Network18's national infrastructure and has a slightly more urban, upmarket audience profile, News Live 24x7 has stronger roots in Assam's local news culture and reaches audiences in smaller towns and rural areas that national-backed channels underserve. Compared to Assam Talks, which is a newer entrant in the market, News Live 24x7 has the advantage of established viewership loyalty built over years of consistent local news coverage. For advertisers targeting a broad Assam audience rather than a narrowly urban demographic, News Live 24x7 often delivers the most cost-effective reach.

Q: What is an L-Band ad and how does it work on News Live 24x7?

An L-Band ad is an on-screen branding format in which a horizontal strip — typically 10 to 15 percent of the screen height — appears along the bottom of the television frame while programming continues above it. On News Live 24x7, the L-Band is used to display a brand's logo, name, and tagline in a visually prominent position that the viewer sees throughout the programme segment without the broadcast being interrupted. The L-Band ad is particularly effective for brand visibility campaigns because it delivers sustained exposure — a viewer watching a 30-minute news programme will see the L-Band brand for the entire duration, which is a fundamentally different exposure model from a 30-second TV commercial that airs once and ends. L-Band rates are typically lower than equivalent commercial break FCT on a per-minute basis, which makes them an efficient format for brand recognition objectives.

Q: Is there a 24x7 monitoring system to confirm my ad was aired on News Live 24x7?

Ad monitoring for News Live 24x7 television advertising is available through third-party broadcast monitoring services, and reputable advertising agencies provide this as part of their campaign management service. The channel itself issues a telecast certificate confirming that booked spots were aired, but independent ad monitoring — which involves recording the channel's broadcast and verifying each spot against the booking schedule — provides an additional layer of confirmation that is valuable for advertisers with significant budgets or compliance requirements. At SmartAds, ad monitoring reports are a standard deliverable for all television campaigns we manage, and we use this data both to verify delivery and to identify any makegoods that the channel owes the client for missed spots.

Q: What happens if my ad is not aired during the scheduled spot on News Live 24x7?

If a booked ad spot is not aired — which can happen during breaking news situations when regular programming and commercial schedules are preempted — the standard industry practice is for the channel to offer makegoods, which are replacement spots of equivalent commercial value aired within a specified timeframe. The terms governing makegoods should be clearly defined in the booking agreement or release order before the campaign begins; an experienced advertising agency will ensure these terms are in place and will follow up with the channel to confirm that makegoods are delivered as agreed. Advertisers who book directly without agency support sometimes find that makegoods are not proactively offered and need to be actively claimed.

Q: How much does it cost to advertise on News Live 24x7 during breaking news segments?

News Live 24x7 breaking news sponsorship is a premium format that commands rates above the standard prime time card rate, because breaking news segments attract spike viewership that can be significantly higher than regular programming. The cost of breaking news sponsorship varies depending on the nature and duration of the breaking news event — a major political development or natural disaster coverage can attract viewership multiples of two to five times normal levels — and is typically negotiated as a package rather than a per-spot rate. For brands in categories like insurance, banking, or public service communication, breaking news sponsorship can deliver exceptional cost per reach during high-viewership moments, but it requires a flexible creative approach and rapid execution capability that not all advertisers are set up to manage.

Q: Can small businesses afford to advertise on News Live 24x7?

Yes — and this is one of the most underappreciated aspects of regional news channel advertising in India. A small business in Guwahati or a district town in Assam can run a meaningful News Live 24x7 advertisement campaign with a budget as modest as ₹50,000 to ₹1 lakh for a four-week run in non-prime time, which would deliver a reasonable number of spots spread across the morning and afternoon time bands. The key is concentrating the budget in a single channel and time band rather than spreading it thinly, and using a 10-second ad format to maximise the number of spots within the budget. We have worked with local businesses — a hospital in Jorhat, a jewellery retailer in Dibrugarh — who have run effective regional television campaigns on budgets that most national advertisers would consider negligible, and the results in terms of local brand recognition have been genuinely significant.

Q: What creative formats (file types) are accepted for TV ads on News Live 24x7?

For video ad creatives, News Live 24x7 accepts broadcast-quality video files, with MOV and MP4 being the most commonly accepted formats; the video should be at a minimum resolution of 1920x1080 pixels (Full HD), with a frame rate of 25fps to match Indian broadcast standards, and audio levels should conform to the EBU R128 loudness standard or the channel's specific broadcast specification. For on-screen branding formats like the L-Band, Aston Band, and scroller ad, static image files are typically required in high-resolution JPEG or PNG format, with vector source files in CDR or AI format preferred for designs that need to be adapted to the channel's specific template dimensions. It is worth confirming the exact technical specifications with the channel's traffic department before submitting creative material, as specifications can vary and a rejected creative submission can delay a campaign start date by several days.

Why Regional Television Advertising Deserves a Bigger Share of Your Media Plan

The case for News Live 24x7 television advertising is ultimately a case for the intelligence of regional media planning over the reflexive comfort of national channel spending. We have seen too many brands allocate the majority of their Northeast India budget to