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Tag: CNBC AWAAZ

  • TV18: FY10 tots up losses, but Q4FY10 shows turnaround signs

    TV18: FY10 tots up losses, but Q4FY10 shows turnaround signs

    MUMBAI: Is the Raghav Bahl-promoted Television Eighteen India (TV18) on a recovery trail? If one goes by the results over Q3 and Q4 FY10, things seemed to be looking up at the company which runs the news channels -CNBC TV18 and CNBC Awaaz. Revenues have gone up, operational costs seem to be being kept under control and a positive bottomline has been reported.

    Revenues in Q4 were up to Rs 840.6 million (Rs 674 million in Q3 FY10) and operating profit too has gone up to Rs Rs 254.3 million (Rs 204.4 million). However, the company would have only made a marginal net profit had it not booked its entire ‘other income’ of Rs 217.4 million in Q4 FY10. For the record the company generated a net profit after deferred tax of Rs 238.7 million.

    On an annual basis, the company has seen a rise in its net loss on a standalone basis for the year ended 31 March 2010. The net loss was at Rs 597.3 million, as compared to Rs 528.9 million in the previous fiscal. Revenues too have almost stayed stagnant at Rs 2.73 billion in the whole of FY10 (Rs 2.80 billion in FY09). Observers are questioning if the company has hit a ceiling as far as revenue potential is concerned in the financial and business TV news channel segment.

    The firm’s operating profit for FY10 was Rs 648.1 million which is a turnaround from the loss of Rs 48.4 million it incurred last fiscal.

    The comapny’s other income also dropped by 68.81 per cent, from Rs 697 million (FY09) to Rs 217.4 million (FY10). The firm also lost out in terms of income earned from investments, which saw a fall of 45.29 per cent from Rs 392.6 million (FY09) to Rs 214.8 million (FY10). However, on a quarterly basis the income from investments went up to Rs 75.5 million in Q4FY10 from a loss of Rs 210.6 million in the corresponding quarter last fiscal.

    The company net loss increased further in FY10 even though they did better at the PAT level, due to a deferred tax outgo wherein the company had to spend Rs 50.4 million this fiscal as compared to a savings of Rs 159.5 million it made last fiscal.

    On a consolidated basis, TV18 reduced its net loss for the fiscal by 29.55 per cent to Rs 1.17 billion from Rs1.66 billion in FY09. The revenue for the firm went up from Rs 4.85 billion (FY09) to Rs 5.53 billion (FY10). This coupled with reduced operating expenses led the firm to post an operating profit of Rs 403.1 million this fiscal, a major improvement from the operating loss of Rs 813.1 million it posted last fiscal.

    The consolidated result also includes financials of Web18, Newswire18 and Infomedia18.

    A look at these segments individually:

    Web18: 
    Web18, which houses the web properties of the group including in.com, reduced its net loss by 51.99 per cent for the fiscal at Rs 266.9 million from last fiscal’s Rs 555.9 million. The revenues generated from operations increased by 11.28 per cent to Rs 728.2 million (FY10) from Rs 654.4 million (FY09). The operating loss of the firm also reduced by 74.1 per cent from Rs 357.5 million (FY09) to Rs 92.7 million (FY10).

    However, in Q4FY10 the firm registered a net profit of Rs 37.4 million, on account of its minority interest income of Rs 71.8 million and revenues were at Rs 229.1 million.

    Newswire18:
    Newswire18 also reduced its losses in FY10, bringing it to Rs 40.8 million from last fiscal’s Rs 129.8 million. The firm’s revenues went up by 42.5 per cent to Rs 329.6 million (FY10) from Rs 231.3 million (FY09). At an operational level the company showed a profit of Rs 18.4 million as compared to last fiscal’s loss of Rs 76.8 million. This turnaround was aided by Newswire 18’s increased revenues especially in Q4FY10 when it earned Rs 92.5 million

    Infomedia 18:
    Infomedia 18 too reduced its losses this fiscal bringing these down from Rs 448.9 million in FY09 to Rs 35 million in the year ended 31 March, 2010. The firm’s revenues went up to Rs 1.74 billion in FY10 from Rs 1.17 billion in FY09. This helped them reduce their operating losses by 48.27 per cent to Rs 170.8 million (FY10) from Rs 330.2 million (FY09).

  • CNBC Awaaz brings Storyboard in its Hindi avatar

    CNBC Awaaz brings Storyboard in its Hindi avatar

    MUMBAI: CNBC Awaaz, the Hindi business news channel from the TV18 stable, is introducing Storyboard in Hindi. The weekly show will be aired every Friday at 9.30 pm.

    The show focuses on ad executives who find connect with consumers through their campaigns. Storyboard in Hindi will be about the consumer, his mindset, his spending power, his psyche and his lifestyle.

    The show on CNBC Awaaz will also be hosted by CNBC TV18 features editor and editor-anchor of Storyboard, Anuradha SenGupta.

    Sengupta says, “I am really happy to announce the launch of Storyboard in Hindi. Over the years, Storyboard has reached out to millions of viewers across the country. We wanted to go a step and hence we thought that it was the right time to take the next big step and reach out to a diverse audience.”

    To create a buzz around this unique concept of the show, CNBC Awaaz had announced a contest wherein the contestant had to craft a launch campaign for a special edition of Storyboard. The winner will be entitled to an all expenses paid trip to the Cannes Lions – International Advertising Festival this year.

    “Cannes Lions is the Oscars for any advertising or marketing professional and a trip there is an ideal reward for the winner of the launch contest,” Sengupta added.

    CNBC Awaaz also launched a creative campaign for Storyboard in Hindi conceived by Cell 18. The press ads used the Hindi alphabet to create connections between brands and Hindi language.

    Speaking on the campaign, Network Creative Director Zubin Driver said, “Only a leader can be self effacing and chuckle at oneself. And that’s exactly what we did in a series of clever creative units that brought home the Hindi launch and made it funny and unconventional at the same time. Our creative team has done an excellent job in executing these promos and it was a fun ride all the way!”

  • CNBC Awaaz partners Entrepreneur magazine to launch new show

    CNBC Awaaz partners Entrepreneur magazine to launch new show

    MUMBAI: CNBC Awaaz, the Hindi business new channel from the TV18 stable has partnered with Entrepreneur magazine to launch a new show Awaaz Entrepreneur. It will focus on the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) across the country.

    The weekend show will launch on 15 May and will be aired Every Saturday at 8.30 pm.

    Awaaz Entrepreneur will profile SME’s and talk to various stakeholders. The series will also showcase the journeys of eminent industry figures who have witnessed the SME phase and have now transformed into larger businesses. People from across the country can also have their queries resolved through an expert on the show.

    CNBC Awaaz Editor-in-Chief Sanjay Pugalia said, “Awaaz Entrepreneur is a series solely focusing on SMEs. Our intention is to aid and educate budding entrepreneurs and make them understand the nuances of starting and building their own ventures successfully. This is a step forward in our pursuit to supporting the emerging businesses in India.”

    Small and Medium Enterprises are the driving force of the Indian economy and CNBC Awaaz, with this initiative is aiming to reveal the journeys of various SMEs and also bring out various ideas, options and solutions available to various sections of society who yearn to venture out and make it big on their own.

  • CNBC Awaaz launches market show ‘Market Ke Khatron Ke Khiladi’

    CNBC Awaaz launches market show ‘Market Ke Khatron Ke Khiladi’

    MUMBAI: CNBC Awaaz, the Hindi business news channel from TV18, has launched a new show, Market Ke Khatron Ke Khiladi. The show will display live all the action from the dealing room, between 8.30 am and 3.30 pm.

    The channel claims that the viewers will not only get an opportunity to witness individuals buying and selling in stocks live, but will also hear from these traders daily the rationale behind their trading strategies.

    The programme will give viewers an opportunity to understand various trading strategies and daily moves of experienced stock traders.

    Market Ke Khatron Ke Khiladi will also feature a segment after the market closes which will analyse whether the stocks selected and strategies adopted by the traders during the day have really paid off.

    CNBC Awaaz Editor-in-chief Sanjay Pugalia said, “CNBC Awaaz Market Ke Khatron Ke Khiladi is a unique and first-of-its kind initiative that show experienced Indian traders live in action in the dealing room, trading in stocks every day. With an aim to educate and guide the investors, especially the day traders about the complexity of trading in stocks, CNBC Awaaz has taken a step forward by providing a live experience of real traders on a daily basis. This segment is a natural extension of educating viewers on making informed decisions on trading in different stocks and the risks involved.”

  • TV18 eases financial pain in Q3, eyes turnaround

    TV18 eases financial pain in Q3, eyes turnaround

    MUMBAI: Television18 has eased its financial pain in the fiscal third-quarter due to some upswing in revenues while costs are kept under strict control.

    For the three months ended December, TV18 has posted a standalone net loss (after tax and minority interest, before ESOP charge out) of Rs 146.64 million, narrowing it from Rs 246.95 million in the previous quarter.

    The company, which operates leading business news channels CNBC TV18 and CNBC Awaaz, had posted a net profit of Rs 72.71 million in the earlier year.

    Revenue from news operations at Rs 674.02 million stands 9.69 per cent higher than the year-ago period. For the trailing quarter, TV18’s standalone revenue was at Rs 647.43 million.

    “The fourth quarter revenue should be higher than the trailing quarter due to the Budget. When the market fully recovers, TV18 should be in a position to grab the lion’s share of the growth as it has managed to protect its ratings share even after the launch of ET Now,” says a media analyst who tracks the news broadcasting business.

    Operating expenses for the quarter stood at Rs 469.59 million (from Rs 469.09 million a year ago). We have brought down the operating cost to Rs 450-460 million. “We do not expect that to increase. We are watching that number like a hawk,” TV18 managing director Raghav Bahl told analysts.

    TV18 also improved its operating margins to 30.33 per cent from prior year’s 23.66 per cent. The company said that the “high operating margins” are likely to be maintained.

    During the quarter, TV18 cut 12 per cent of its permanent staff and merged the broadcast operations of its two business news channels in a bid to take corrective measures at a time when the ad market was going through a slump. The company has taken a one time restructuring charge Of Rs 45 million on account of rationalisation of its workforce.

    On a consolidated basis, TV18, which also includes financials of Web18, Infomedia18 and Newswire18, has posted a net loss (after tax and minority interest, before ESOP charge out) of Rs 373.03 million. For the same quarter of the previous year, the net loss stood at Rs 306.03 million.

    Revenue from consolidated operations fell marginally to Rs 1.29 billion compared to Rs 1.30 billion a year ago. Expenses stood at Rs 1.16 billion, from Rs 1.39 billion in the earlier year.

    “We are happy to share that we continue to build on the turnaround in operations that started a couple of quarters back. Business news channels have returned to healthy operating margins along with drastically reducing net losses. Web18 revenues are showing strong traction as we endeavour to keep costs under control. EBITDA break-even should be achieved shortly. Newswire18 continues to strengthen revenues and operating margins. Informedia18 revenues should start growing in forthcoming quarters as new launches are being well received by customers,” says Bahl.

    Web18, the subsidiary that houses all the websites of the group, has curtailed its net loss to Rs 123.25 million, as against Rs 214.08 million a year ago. Revenue from operations grew 12.56 per cent to Rs 196.93 million, while expenses dropped 35.62 per cent to Rs 224.90 million in the quarter.

    In Infomedia18, the net loss for the quarter stood at Rs 92.32 million, down from Rs 103.75 million in the corresponding quarter of FY ’09. Revenue, however, decreased to Rs 334.35 million from Rs 450.86 million, while expenses were at Rs 384.37 million, down from Rs 493.71 million a year ago.

    In Newswire18, revenue rose to Rs 83.77 million, from Rs 64.63 million a year ago. Net loss has narrowed to Rs 9.82 million compared to Rs 31.91 million in the third quarter of FY’09.

    TV18 expects to return to black soon as the market recovers. The company plans to bring down its high interest payout by reducing the net debt from Rs 6 billion to Rs 2 billion in FY’11.

  • CNBC Awaaz celebrates 5th Anniversary with special lineup

    CNBC Awaaz celebrates 5th Anniversary with special lineup

    MUMBAI: CNBC Awaaz, the first Hindi business news channel of India, is completing five years of operations tomorrow. The channel, which was unveiled on 13 January 2005 by PM Dr Manmohan Singh, has planned a special line up to celebrate the anniversary.

    Says CNBC Awaaz editor-in-chief Sanjay Pugalia, “We are proud to carry on the vision that Dr Manmohan Singh shared with us when he launched CNBC Awaaz five years ago. It has been 5 years of building a financially literate India, of empowering small and medium enterprises, of fostering entrepreneurship, of enabling and transforming the lives of a billion Indians.”

    CNBC Awaaz claims a 96 per cent growth in terms of channel share over the past five years which has reflected in the 45 per cent jump in the entire business news genre. It also boasts of a 350 per cent growth in its viewer base in the last five years.

    Adds TV18 business media COO Anil Uniyal, “CNBC Awaaz has not only created a new genre and expanded the business audience but has also fuelled an all new consumption boom amongst progressive, Hindi speaking audiences in India, besides increasing retail participation in the equity markets, both directly and indirectly.”

    The channel has titled programming aspect as “Five years of Redefining Business”.

    The programming will focus on the defining moments in the last five years, through panel discussions and one-on-one interviews with industry and political big wigs who will present their views on how the economy has shaped the country and what can be expected in the next five years.

    Some of the key shows on the channel will be:

    5 Years – Markets Special: A half hour show where market experts will bring out the five year journey of the Stock & Commodities markets, the transition and the manifold growth achieved and what is expected in 2010.

    5 Years – Personal Finance & Investments: A half hour episode that will encapsulate the magnanimous growth that the personal finance and investment sector has witnessed in the last five years, in terms of the number of investors, the total volume of investment in various investment avenues like stocks, mutual funds, insurance and more.

    5 Years – Industry Special: This half hour will be a round up of all the major events and trends witnessed by Indian industries in the last five years, with industry figures highlighting the exponential growth achieved and the way forward.

    5 Years Specials: A series of three special half hours of one-on-one interviews with individuals from industry and politics, to discuss their view on the past five years and their expectations for the next 5 years from the industry and the economy

    5 Years – Defining Moments & The Realty Sector: Two special half hours dissecting the growth achieved by the realty sector in the past five years and discussing occasions, events, announcements during the past five years, that became defining moments in the history of the nation. 

  • TV18 to cut 12% jobs, merge broadcast operations

    TV18 to cut 12% jobs, merge broadcast operations

    MUMBAI: TV18 will cut 12 per cent of its permanent staff and merge the broadcast operations of its two business news channels, a clear sign that news channels need to take corrective measures amid slowdown in advertising revenues.

    The company will also use Rs 3 billion out of its proposed Rs 5.1 billion rights issue to retire part of its debt.

    The twin steps will result in a cost saving of Rs 650 million annually.

    “Around 205 jobs are gone, but senior editorial staff have been retained,” a source said.

    TV18 will merge the logistics, back-end and broadcast operations of the two channels – CNBC TV18 and CNBC Awaaz – coinciding with the completion of 10 years of CNBC TV18 and five years of CNBC Awaaz as stand-alone operations.

    Network18 Group CEO Haresh Chawla said, “It is our belief that the next stage of growth and profitability of our business news operations will come from a more synergistic entity that combines the strength of two powerful and complementary brands. TV18 has already embarked on a path to financial restructuring as mentioned in the rights issue offer. Both these moves put together will make TV18 more robust in operating as well as financial terms.”

    The company explained that the channels will continue to maintain their distinct identities. Only some of the over-lapping and common operations at the back-end are being merged. The company expects to optimise approximately 20 per cent in annual operating costs via this restructuring.

    TV18 said that these moves will help the company return to better operating margins and profitability. The company will take a one-time extraordinary restructuring charge in the current quarter, and the synergies are likely to result in savings from the next quarter.

    Shares of TV18 closed Friday at Rs 78.75, up 2.54 per cent.

  • News TV stocks weighed down by ad slowdown

    News TV stocks weighed down by ad slowdown

    MUMBAI: Shares of news broadcasters have taken a battering as they struggle to up their second-quarter revenues over the previous year amidst stiff competition and slowdown in the economy. 

    NDTV has failed to buck the trend despite the buzz in the market that Time Warner is in advanced negotiations to pick up a majority in its non-news business after the exit of NBC Universal. The stock has fallen from its closing price of Rs 140.70 on the BSE (28 October, the day it announced the results) to Rs 125.85 on Tuesday.

    NDTV’s news business has seen a six per cent revenue drop from the year-ago period while net loss was at Rs 118.5 million. Operational cost-efficiency measures have narrowed the net loss from the prior-year period, but analysts are concerned about the revenue uptick in the subsequent quarters.

    “The net cash position is close to zero, competition is intensifying at the news operations level, and the company is kicking in losses in non-news divisions as NDTV is still incubating these businesses,” a media analyst said. 

    A stake sale in NDTV Networks will, however, boost the scrip. NDTV Networks is the holding company for NDTV Imagine, NDTV Lifestyle, NDTV Convergence, Labs and NGEN Media Services (NDTV holds 50 per cent in this).

    TV18, which runs business news channels CNBC TV18 and CNBC Awaaz, has had a bad run in the stock market after announcing its financial performance. The stock slid from Rs 90.10 on the result day to Rs 70.55 on Tuesday as TV18 posted a second-quarter net loss of Rs 246.95 million with revenue from news operations dropping 20 per cent over the previous year.

    IBN18 had a similar fate on the bourses, falling from the closing price of Rs 99.60 on the second-quarter results day to Rs 78.35. The company that runs news channels CNN IBN and IBN7 had a standalone net loss of Rs 598.7 million (from Rs 175.76 million) and a 12 per cent revenue fall from the previous year.

    Source : BSE India

    TV Today’s shares plunged from 93.55 to Rs 76.95 despite the fiscal second quarter net profit jumping 40 per cent. Income from operations, however, fell marginally by 3.51 per cent to Rs 645.45 million.

    The only scrip in this genre that climbed was Zee News Ltd (ZNL) as it rose from Rs 44.30 to Rs 51.25. But this was mainly due to the announcement that ZNL shareholders would be given shares of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (Zeel) as six regional general entertainment channels move out from the company.

    “The weakness of advertising revenues seems to be weighing down the scrip prices of news channels. But rebound is bound to happen and we will see an upward curve gather momentum,” said the head of a broking firm.

  • TV18 posts Q2 losses, signals early recovery

    TV18 posts Q2 losses, signals early recovery

    MUMBAI: Television18, the company which operates leading business news channels CNBC TV18 and CNBC Awaaz, has suffered losses for the second consecutive quarter.

    On a standalone basis, TV18 has posted a net loss (after tax and minority interest, before ESOP charge out) of Rs 246.95 million for the quarter ended 30 September, as compared to a net profit of Rs 103.49 million a year ago.

    Amid slowdown, revenue from news operations fell 20 per cent to Rs 647.50 million, as against Rs 808.23 in the same quarter of FY’09.

    However, on the sequential basis, the company’s revenue has increased 14 per cent as compared to Rs 568.57 million in Q1.

    Operating expenses went up by 12.07 per cent to Rs 547.11 million in the quarter under review on Y-o-Y basis.

    TV18 is expecting revenues to grow YoY from next quarter onwards, ending four quarters of de-growth.

    Meanwhile, the operating margin of the company decreased to 15.50 per cent in the quarter under review, compared to 39.60 per cent in the prior-year period.

    On a consolidated basis, TV18, which also includes financials of Web18, Infomedia18 and Newswire18, has posted a net loss of Rs 563.74 million. For the same quarter of the previous year, net loss stood at Rs 402.19 million.

    Total revenue from consolidated operations jumped 12.19 per cent to Rs 1.2 billion, as compared to Rs 1.07 billion a year ago. Expenses stood at Rs 1.25 billion, up 20.72 per cent.

    The company announced that all its business units have reported sequential growth in revenues and all are set to turn Ebitda positive on consolidated basis. Also successful completion of rights issue will “substantially de-leverage the balance sheet.”

    “A successful completion of our rights issue will give the necessary dose of equity to the balance sheet, deleveraging it from the current debt levels,” TV18 MD Raghav Bahl said in a statement.

    Web18, the subsidiary that houses all the websites of the group, has curtailed its net loss to Rs 100.33 million, as compared to Rs 238.04 million a year ago. Revenue from the operations grew marginally by 4.85 per cent to Rs 160.08 million, while expenses dropped 38.26 per cent to Rs 211.45 million in the quarter.

    In Infomedia18, however, the net loss has increased to Rs 37.90 million, from Rs 1.11 million in the corresponding quarter of FY ’09. Revenue has increased to Rs 353.72 million, from Rs 290.48 million, while expenses climbed to Rs 415.10 million, from Rs 299.62 million a year ago.

    In Newswire18, revenue has grown 54 per cent and the company has turned Ebitda positive. Though it has posted a net loss of Rs 13.28 million, as against Rs 39.93 million, revenue rose to Rs 78.88 million (from Rs 51.20 million), while expenses were at Rs 76.87 million.

    Bahl added, “We are happy to share that all our businesses have started showing revenue growth on a QoQ basis and we have reasons to believe that we shall soon be witnessing YoY growth as well. While the business news channels continue to have a positive Ebitda, Newswire18 has turned Ebitda positive as well. We are confident that the operating margins of other businesses, especially Web18 and Infomedia18, will start recovering from the next quarter.”

  • IBN18 gets board nod to raise Rs 5.1 billion via rights issue

    IBN18 gets board nod to raise Rs 5.1 billion via rights issue

    MUMBAI: Raghav Bahl-promoted Network18 group companies are on a fund-raising spree. IBN18 Broadcast said Thursday it would raise up to Rs 5.10 billion through a rights issue, much in line with TV18 which has taken an enabling resolution to mop up a similar amount.

    The board has approved the rights issue of equity shares aggregating to Rs 5.10 billion, IBN18 Broadcast said in a filing to the BSE.

    “The pricing, ratio, timings and other terms of the rights issue shall be decided by the issue committee of the board of directors, in consultation with the lead managers,” the company added.

    The company has also got the board nod to increase its authorised capital from Rs 400 million to Rs 550 million. This is subject to necessary approvals from the shareholders of the company.

    IBN18 houses English news channel CNN IBN, Hindi news channel IBN7, Marathi news channel IBN Lokmat and is a joint venture partner with media conglomerate Viacom in Viacom18.

    Earlier, TV18 had announced its plans of a rights issue, primarily to repay debt. The company houses the business news channels CNBC TV18 and CNBC Awaaz and financial and news terminal Newswire18.