ITV

Tag: CNBC-TV18

  • CNBC-TV18 launches new series ‘CNBC Bizography’

    CNBC-TV18 launches new series ‘CNBC Bizography’

    MUMBAI: English business news channel CNBC-TV18 is set to launch a new weekly series, CNBC Bizography, starting 14 August.

    The new show, which will air every Saturday at 7 pm, will go inside the stories of empire builders, titans and winners – people who make a career of turning the ‘unthinkable’ into reality, the channel said.

    It will feature profiles of George Foreman, Ted Turner, Hugh Hefner, Donald Trump, Merv Griffin, Quincy Jones, Proctor & Gamble, Target and Southwest Airlines.

    CNBC-TV18 head marketing Saket Saurabh said, “The Bizography series is quite unique compared to other documentaries due to its solitary focus on business icons, who epitomised innovation and challenged conventions. The series puts the spotlight on inspirational leaders whose second calling in life in effect became their first and through a powerful narrative it depicts their remarkable journey.”

    In its first episode, CNBC Bizography focuses on the life of the Heywood Giant – ‘George Foreman’, his remarkable journey of poverty in the streets of Houston to reclaiming his title as the heavyweight world boxing champion to turning into a philanthropist and an entrepreneur, with his George Foreman Grill venture.

  • Reliance Capital to pick up 18% in Bloomberg UTV

    Reliance Capital to pick up 18% in Bloomberg UTV

    MUMBAI: Reliance Capital, part of billionaire Anil Ambani’s empire, is snapping up an 18 per cent interest in business news channel Bloomberg UTV for an undisclosed amount.

    Bloomberg has already applied to the FIPB (Foreign Investment Promotion Board) for a 15 per cent stake in the channel.

    Reliance Capital is buying the stake from the promoters of Bloomberg UTV. Founder-promoter Ronnie Screwvala and associates will, thus, hold the remaining 67 per cent stake. 

    Meanwhile, rumours spread that Ambit would also be picking up a stake. Ambit Group CEO Ashok Wadhwa, however, denied such a move. “We acted as the advisor to the transaction. We are not picking up any stake in Bloomberg UTV. That is not a business we are in,” Wadhwa told Indiantelevision.com.

    Reliance Capital has existing investments in Network18 (which operates CNBC TV18, CNN-IBN, IBN7, Colors and Awaaz channels) and TV Today network (which operates Aaj Tak and Headlines Today). 

    The Reliance Group has 15.49 per cent stake in TV Today, according to data available till 31 March 2010. It also holds 2.09 per cent in Network18 and 4.99 per cent in IBN18.

    The investment will form part of Reliance Capital’s exposure to the fast growing and high potential media sector. 

    Bloomberg UTV is a strategic partnership between Bloomberg L.P., the global leader in business information, and the founders of UTV, one of India’s leading integrated media and entertainment enterprises.

  • 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 TV18 adds personal finance to ‘Your Stocks’

    CNBC TV18 adds personal finance to ‘Your Stocks’

    MUMBAI: CNBC-TV18, the leading English business news channel from the TV18 stable, is revamping one of its longest running shows, Your Stocks’, from 29 April.

    The show, which enables viewers to seek answers to their stock related queries, will now expand its scope by including queries based on personal finance and commodities also.

    Also, the show will now be hosted by markets and personal finance expert Vivek Law along with Sonia Shenoy. The first episode of this new format on 29 April will focus on answering investment queries of personnel from the Indian Armed Forces.

    TV18 business media director and COO – New Media Projects Ajay Chacko said, “Your Stocks has been one of the oldest and most popular shows on CNBC TV18 and has played a critical role in guiding investor education for the past decade. The show’s new avatar will not only broaden its scope to go beyond stock queries and include questions on commodities, mutual funds, insurance, gold etc. but also find connect with newer audiences that are keen to receive information on alternate investment sources.”

    Your Stocks has featured several market experts who have provided information to investors across the country and by expanding its scope, the channel claims that it will reach out to a much larger audience, from small towns to big metros, with customised responses to every query.

    The show shall also feature special episodes once a fortnight focusing on different audience groups such as women, students and retirees.

  • CNBC TV18, Awaaz hold fort on Budget day

    CNBC TV18, Awaaz hold fort on Budget day

      MUMBAI: TV18 business channels – CNBC TV18 and CNBC Awaaz – have maintained leadership positions in their respective genres on the Budget day.

    As per Tam data for 26 February, when finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee was reading out the union Budget in the Parliament, the English business viewers preferred CNBC TV18 over competition.

    The channel commanded 43.2 per cent viewership (Tam, CS 25+, All India), followed by Bloomberg UTV and ET Now (20.6 per cent each). Surprisingly, NDTV Profit, the second in command for the week, could manage only 15.5 per cent viewership.   
         
      Meanwhile, in the Hindi business news terrain, CNBC Awaaz maintained its dominance on 26 February with 71.3 per cent genre share as compared to 28.8 per cent of Zee Business (Tam, 25+, HSM Market).

    Among the English general news channels (Tam, CS 25+, All India), Times Now led the pack not only on Budget day but also throughout the week. On 26 February, the channel dominated the genre with 31.4 per cent viewership, followed by NDTV 24X7 (30.9 per cent) and CNN IBN (29.1 per cent). Headlines Today got 7.3 per cent while NewsX managed to hold 1.4 per cent of the viewership pie.

    CNN IBN said it occupied the top position on Budget day in the C&S audience segment aged 15+ (0600-2400 hours). In its defined demographic, CNN IBN garnered a ratio of 0.12 per cent over Times Now (0.11 per cent) and NDTV 24X7 (0.11 per cent).

    The Hindi general news space was led by Aaj Tak with 21 per cent share, followed by Star News (16 per cent), Zee News (15 per cent) and India TV (13 per cent) on the day.

  • CNBC TV18 to launch talk show with Vir Sanghvi

    CNBC TV18 to launch talk show with Vir Sanghvi

    MUMBAI: English business news channel CNBC TV18 is launching a new weekend talk show with Vir Sanghvi on 6 February.

    The show, Off the Record, will air every Saturday at 8 pm and have a repeat telecast at 9 pm on Sundays. It will focus on some of the biggest names in politics and policymaking, depicting their professional journey and their insights on the biggest issues of the day.

    The first show will see Vir Sanghvi meeting Home Minister P Chidambaram. The home minister will speak on 26/11, Indo-Pak relations, the diplomatic efforts in bringing perpetrators to justice and re-invigorating India’s security apparatus.

    Says TV18 director Ajay Chacko, “We have relentlessly focused on programming that provides insights into the heart of Indian policy making and politics. Off the Record is a significant addition to that portfolio of content.”

  • 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 TV18, HUL partner to launch business challenge for B-Schools

    CNBC TV18, HUL partner to launch business challenge for B-Schools

    MUMBAI: FMCG major Hindustan Unilever (HUL) and CNBC-TV18 have joined hands to launch “Lessons in Marketing Excellence.”

    The joint initiative is aimed at increasing student-industry interaction and providing the students with a platform to showcase their intellect and thought process.

    Students will showcase live projects, which will be administered by HUL and CNBC-TV18.

    The programme will be launched across 12 premier B-schools in India including IIM Ahmadabad, IIM Bangalore, IIM Lucknow, IIM Kanpur, IIM Kolkata, IIM Indore, XLRI, Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, SP Jain Institute of Management and Research, National Institute of Industrial Engineering, Indian School of Business, and Faculty of Management Studies.

    The winners of the challenge will get an opportunity of business leadership training at Hindustan Unilever, which also includes an international stint. Additionally, the winners will get a chance to be the guest editors for CNBC-TV18’s Storyboard.

    ‘Lessons in Marketing Excellence’ will aim at encouraging team work among the students while also bringing into fold their perspectives. The challenge will be assigned to each B-School in the form of a case study from selected industry verticals. Teams of 2-3 students will present innovative solutions to these case studies in the form of audio-visual presentation and an executive summary.

    The best two teams from each B-School selected by their own faculty members will present to a jury consisting of senior representatives from HUL, CNBC-TV18, Mint and the industry.

    The best two projects will then have to be presented to a final jury panel comprising advertising and marketing specialists and academicians in the grand finale.

  • 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.