Cutting government ad spends will lead to job losses in broadcast sector: IBF

After News Broadcasters Association, The Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF), too said it was “deeply saddened” by Congress leader Sonia Gandhi’s call to put an end to all advertisements by the various state Governments and Public Sector Enterprises for a period of two years.

“Like other sectors which have been economically impacted by the Covid-19 outbreak, the media and broadcasting industry cannot claim immunity. In these testing times, any decision by the Government to curtail budgetary allocation to advertisements carried out by various channels in lieu of government advertising will sound the death knell for the sector and particularly so, for the regional and smaller channels whose overwhelming dependence on Government ads cannot be both overstated and undermined,” the apex industry body of broadcasters said in a statement.