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Tag: moneycontrol.com

  • moneycontrol.com editorial shuffled; moves to integrated news room

    moneycontrol.com editorial shuffled; moves to integrated news room

    KOLKATA: From today, the skeleton editing staff of moneycontrol.com, a business and finance news portal, which operated from Matunga (West), will be operating from the television unit at Lower Parel.
    It is learnt from industry sources that more than six reporters who were engaged in the financial news writing have been asked to leave.

    “Network18 Group won’t be producing any original content for moneycontrol.com. It has adopted a rationalised move by laying off all the reporters engaged in financial news writing. More than six reporters have been asked to resign and made to cite that they are walking out from the news organisation on personal reasons, the release letters of the employees disclose,” revealed the highly placed media source.

    TV18 Broadcast which has laid off around 300-400 people as a part of its restructuring exercise and has merged the operational teams of CNN IBN and IBN7, will now be producing the content for moneycontrol.com too. The young team would be editing the copies filed by the television bureau, sources added.

    The portal’s editor Santosh Nair has been asked to report in the Lower Parel office, but there is no clarification regarding whom he will be reporting to. Earlier, Nair reported to R Jagannathan, editor at Firstpost.com.

    Also, it is interesting to note that the portal’s chief executive officer Joyson Thomson was mulling to list the entity but it seems he has changed his plans overnight. “Though of late, moneycontrol.com was driven by marketing strategies and not hard core news perspective which it adopted earlier,” sources said.

    There were talks the news portal would set up an editorial team at Delhi and Kolkata. “In fact a year ago, the company was eagerly looking to hire an editorial staff for the Delhi bureau,” sources said.

    “The first carnage happened in the second week of August when TV18 said it would ask around 300-400 employees to leave. We got the notice in the last week of August,” recounts an employee.

    When asked about the compensation package, he said: “The compensation package is up to the mark as we have been offered three months CTC and not in hand salary.”

    Media analysts said that TV18 has restructured its operations and reduced its workforce significantly, as part of a cost cutting exercise due to the lackluster advertising environment and government regulations like the 12 minutes advertising cap on broad asters.

    Now going forward with this downsizing, journalists are required to work across both internet and TV medium, as the group has created integrated newsrooms.

  • Network18 beefs up business news editorial set up

    Network18 beefs up business news editorial set up

    MUMBAI: It’s taking steps to strengthen its business news team. For starters, it has announced the appointment of Network18 long timer (currently president & editorial director TV18 Business Media) Senthil Chengalvarayan as the editor in chief of what it calls the Network18 Business Newsroom – comprising its market leading broadcast and digital news outlets in the business media space, CNBC-TV18, CNBC Awaaz, CNBC-TV18 Prime HD and Moneycontrol.com. The newsroom is slated to act as a common hub to ensure seamless broadcast and digital synergies from both a newsgathering and output perspective across these brands, which cumulatively attract over 40 million viewers and 15 million unique visitors on an average every month, says a company press release.

    In this new capacity, Senthil will be working closely with R. Jagannathan, editor-In-chief of Network18’s web and publishing stable which includes Moneycontrol.com, CNBC Awaaz editor in chief Sanjay Pugalia, CNBC Awaaz and the editorial leads at CNBC-TV18.

    The management has also pushed senior editors Menaka Doshi and Latha Venkatesh upstairs as executive editors. While Menaka will lead corporate reportage, law and associated areas, Latha Venkatesh will take charge of the banking and financial markets vertical.

    Women Power to the forefront at CNBCTV18: ( Left to Right) Latha Venkatesh, Shreen Bhan and Menka Doshi

     

    		  

    This follows managing editor Udayan Mukherjee’s decision to work with the group in an exclusive consultative capacity and the appointment of Shereen Bhan as his replacement.

    “As the country’s leading broadcast and digital player in business news, we are well-positioned to redefine the category in the context of a converging media landscape. The Network18 Business Newsroom is designed to capitalise on the deep engagement and trust our iconic brands enjoy. We are confident that the editorial leadership team under Senthil’s guidance will be able to craft a new paradigm in business media, ” said Network18 founder and editor Raghav Bahl in the press release making these announcements.

    “..As they (CNBC-TV18, CNBC Awaaz and Moneycontrol) propel ahead in their growth journey, it is imperative that we fuse their editorial strengths in a manner that enhances our offering further and the Network18 Business Newsroom fulfills this objective. In Senthil, Menaka and Latha, we have the most trusted voices in business journalism today and we believe that they will bring their deep expertise and insights to bear at the Newsroom,” added Network18 Group COO B. Sai Kumar.

    “I am a firm believer in the benefit that the Network18 Business Newsroom can unleash for our stellar editorial products. We pioneered business news on television and the web in India and the Newsroom is a natural extension of our successful journey,“ expounded Network18 Business Newsroom editor-in-chief Senthil Chengalvarayan. “I believe that it will achieve two critical objectives for us. It’ll ensure that each of our brands access the best editorial expertise across the Group while they continue to fulfill their distinct editorial propositions. And they’ll do so through a structure that capitalises on the new realities in the media landscape.”

    		    
       
  • Moneycontrol.com awards creative duties to Contract Advertising

    Moneycontrol.com awards creative duties to Contract Advertising

    MUMBAI: Network18 has given the creative duties of its business portal, Moneycontrol.com, to Mumbai-based Contract Advertising.

    Contract Advertising EVP Kumar Subramaniam confirmed to Indiantelevision.com that the company has won the “mandate to manage the Moneycontrol account in a multi-agency pitch.

    Contract will handle all the creative duties including digital. It is the first time that the leading financial portal will have an agency to promote it.

    Moneycontrol.com was launched on 5 November 1999 as a personal finance portal and was acquired by Network18 on 1 June 2000.

  • TV18 news biz turns net positive in FY’11

    TV18 news biz turns net positive in FY’11

    MUMBAI: The news business of Television 18 India (TV18), showing signs of recovery, has turned positive at the net profit level for the fiscal ended 31 March 2011.

    The company, which runs the news channels CNBC TV18 and CNBC Awaaz, has posted a standalone net profit of Rs 390 million for the fiscal compared to a net loss of Rs 600 million in the year-ago period.

    Revenue from news operations has gone up 12.1 per cent to Rs 3.06 billion, as against Rs 2.73 billion in the previous fiscal. Expenditure at Rs 2.19 billion was marginally down compared to Rs 2.23 billion that the company had incurred in FY’10.

    Meanwhile, operating profit rose to Rs 870 million, from Rs 500 million a year ago.

    For the three-month period ended 31 March, the company has, however, seen a dip in the net profit. The standalone net profit for the quarter stood at Rs 170 million, down from Rs 240 million it had reported in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal.

    Revenue rose 13 per cent to Rs 950 million (from Rs 840 million), while expenses grew marginally to Rs 670 million (from Rs 620 million).

    The firm’s operating profit for the quarter was Rs 280 million, up from Rs 220 million in the previous fiscal quarter.

    On a consolidated basis, TV18 reduced its full fiscal net loss to Rs 210 million, from a net loss of Rs 1.17 billion in FY’10. The revenue of the company rose to Rs 5.90 billion from Rs 5.53 billion (FY’10), while operating expenses stood stagnant at Rs 5.27 billion.

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

    Web18:

    Web18, which houses the web properties of the group including in.com, Moneycontrol.com and bookmyshow.com, turned profitable on operational level for the full fiscal. It reported an operating profit of Rs 10 million, as against an operating loss of Rs 90 million a year ago.

    Revenue generated from operations increased by 16.44 per cent to Rs 850 million, as against Rs 730 million (FY’10). Expenses were at Rs 840 million, up from Rs 820 million.

    For the fiscal fourth-quarter, Web18 posted operating profit of Rs 30 million (Rs 20 million in Q4FY10). Revenue stood at Rs 250 million (from Rs 230 million), while expenses were at Rs 220 million (from Rs 200 million).

    Newswire18:

    Newswire18 also posted operating profit for the full fiscal as well as the fourth-quarter. Revenue stood at Rs 390 million (from Rs 330 million in previous fiscal) while operating profit remained constant at Rs 20 million. For the quarter, revenue and expenses stood at Rs 100 million each.

    Infomedia18:

    Infomedia18, meanwhile, saw net loss widening to Rs 420 million for the fiscal (from Rs 40 million in FY’10). Revenue fell to Rs 1.60 billion, from Rs 1.74 billion in FY10. Expenses, meanwhile, were at Rs 1.87 million, from Rs 1.91 billion in FY’10.

    Operating losses increased to Rs 270 million, from Rs 170 million.

    Even in Q4, the company posted net loss of Rs 100 million, as against a net profit of Rs 100 million. Income from operations fell to Rs 480 million, from Rs 760 million. Operating expenses fell to Rs 540 million, from Rs 800 million.

    Operating profit, meanwhile, rose to Rs 60 million, from Rs 40 million in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal.

    Shares of TV18 closed Monday at Rs 75.25 on the BSE, down 0.99 per cent.

  • R Jagannathan quits DNA to join Web18

    R Jagannathan quits DNA to join Web18

    MUMBAI: Former executive editor of DNA, R. Jagannathan will be joining Network 18‘s internet and digital arm Web 18 as editor, business and financial media.

    At Web 18, Jagannathan‘s mandate will be to provide editorial direction and manage content strategy for existing financial brands in the Web18 portfolio as well as spearhead new initiatives on the content side which the network will announce soon.

    With over 34 years of experience, Jagannathan is a veteran in business media and has served as editor or executive editor of Business World, Business Today, The Financial Express, Business Standard and Indian Management, having launched or re-launched some of these publications.  
         
      Said Web18 CEO Lakshmi Narasimhan, “We‘ve been pioneers in the financial space online and we hope to set new paradigms as we go forward. Jagannathan is one of the finest minds in business media and we believe that his expertise and leadership will be instrumental in giving shape to the new plans in the digital space and to take our financial portfolio to the next level of growth. “

    Added Jagannathan, “Web18 has been a benchmark player in business & financial media space with Moneycontrol.com and it is now at a very exciting stage in its journey, I look forward to being part of it at such a momentous time. I hope to work closely with the team to unlock the editorial potential of our brands.”
    Web18, one of the country‘s largest web publishing networks, operates market leading financial portals and services including Moneycontrol.com and Poweryourtrade.com.

  • Slowdown hurts TV18, Q1 net loss at Rs 242.5 million

    Slowdown hurts TV18, Q1 net loss at Rs 242.5 million

    MUMBAI: The economic downturn continues to hurt news channels even in the first quarter of the fiscal. TV18 has slumped into net loss of Rs 242.46 million, compared to a profit of Rs 126.60 million a year ago, as revenue has slowed with companies cutting advertising spending in a recession-ridden market.

    TV18, which owns and operates business news channels CNBC TV18 and CNBC Awaaz, has seen a 24.53 per cent decline in the first-quarter revenue to Rs 568.57 million, as against Rs 753.35 million in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

    Operating expenses stood at Rs 471.20 million, as against Rs 469.65 million in the first quarter of FY’08.

    Says TV18 MD Raghav Bahl, “While our business news channels have continued to build on their dominant positions in the face of new launches, revenues have yet to recover fully.”

    On a consolidated basis, TV18 posted a net loss (profits after tax and before minority interest and ESOP charge out) of Rs 416.35 million for the quarter ended 30 June 2009. This is higher than the year ago loss of Rs 57.65 million.

    The consolidated results include financials of Web18, Newswire18 and Infomedia18.

    Consolidated revenue for the quarter went up by 15.41 per cent to Rs 1.07 billion, as against Rs 929.92 million in the previous fiscal. Operating expenses surged 41.46 per cent to Rs 1.04 billion (from Rs 732.31 million).

    Says Bahl, “We are happy to report an incipient turnaround in the company’s operations, after two extra-ordinarily tough quarters.”

    Web18, which houses the web properties of the group including in.com, has reported a net loss of Rs 88.23 million as against a net loss of Rs 81.41 million. Revenue from operations were up marginally at Rs 142.10 million, from Rs 131.58 million in the same period of the previous fiscal.

    “Web18 has cut its operating losses sharply, as it moves out of investment phase. In.com, Moneycontrol.com and ibnline.com have strengthened their leadership positions, while other portals are acquiring new audiences,” says Bahl.

    Newswire18, on the other hand, has shown a 65.55 per cent rise in revenue at Rs 74.48 million (against Rs 44.99 million). The net loss of the company came down to Rs 14.37 million in the quarter, as compared to Rs 38.04 million.

    “Newswire18 revenues have been buoyant, and its operations are close to breaking even,” adds Bahl.

    Infomedia18 has posted a revenue of 288.12 million and operating loss of Rs 21.97 million. The net loss (before minority interest) was at Rs 71.30 million.

    Says Bahl, “Infomedia18’s operations have been restructured, cutting down operational losses to a fraction of earlier levels. Forbes India has generated a strong launch momentum with paid copies and subscription numbers tracking ahead of business plan. We are satisfied that the operational turnaround is proceeding according to our expectations.”

  • Network18 to provide Idea subscribers with news content

    Network18 to provide Idea subscribers with news content

    MUMBAI: Network18 will pump in customised finance, news and technology content to Idea Cellular subscribers.

    The services will be powered by the group’s online news properties – moneycontrol.com, IBNLive.com and Tech2.com.

    Subscribers to general news and tech content will have to pay Rs 30 a month while the weekly fee is Rs 10 and for daily services it is Rs 3. The subscription price for finance content is Rs 50 a month, Rs 15 a week and Rs 5 per day.

    “These offerings are a great beginning for us. With the combined expertise of Network 18 and Idea Cellular, we will be able to serve the masses in a better manner,” says Network18 mobile business head Rahul Pandey.

    The services will be available to GPRS users of Idea across its 15 telecom circles in India. The service can be accessed on Idea’s WAP portal- wap.ideaFresh.com.

    “The sites will offer information and updates with text, video and pictures in a crisp, mobile-friendly format for Idea GPRS subscribers on the move,” says Idea Cellular CMO Pradeep Shrivastava.

  • TV18 net up 67% at Rs 193 million

    TV18 net up 67% at Rs 193 million

    MUMBAI: News network TV18 has announced a net profit at Rs 193.2 million, for the quarter ended December 2006 as compared to Rs 399 million shown during the corresponding quarter in 2005, an increase of 51 per cent YoY.

    TV18’s consolidated revenues were up 67 per cent (YoY) at Rs 647.46 million.

    Among the highlights of the quarter for TV18 were: scheme of arrangement completed; group company GBN’s IPO gets huge investor response, while internet revenues continued to post robust growth, rising over 120 per cent from the corresponding quarter in 2005.

    TV18 Consolidated Include revenues from CNBC-TV18, CNBC-Awaaz, moneycontrol.com, commoditiescontrol.com and various other Internet portals acquired by the company’s subsidiaries during the year. Current quarter’s revenues and costs are strictly not comparable with the same quarter in the previous year, since revenues and costs of Awaaz are being included from last quarter onwards, the company stated in a footnote.

  • Web18 to raise $ 10 million from Tracer Capital

    MUMBAI: In line with the global trend of concentrating on the nternet space, Web18 Caymans, a subsidiary of the TV18 Group, has raised funding of $ 10 million from Tracer Capital.
    The funding will be utilized to acquire a few portals besides building a strong leadership position in the internet space. This will help the group consolidate its focus on the internet business further.

    According to reliable sources close to the developments, Web18 has been valued at slightly over Rs 4 billion. Indiantelevision.com also learns that the company is also proposing to enter the capital market next year (2007).

    With this, the New York based investment fund company, focused on global investment opportunities in the technology, media, telecommunications and business services sectors, will hold a small percentage of stake in Web18 at a later stage.

    Web18 has completed two rounds of acquisitions up till now. The company earlier acquired a significant stake in Yatra.com and Jobstreet.com India. The second round included cricketnext.com, compareindia.com and urbaneye.com. TV18’s internet arm also manages moneycontrol.com, ibnlive.com; commoditiescontrol.com; tech2.com and easymf.com.

    The group had recently, appointed former Sify India Surya Mantha as the chief executive officer for Web18 Caymans.

  • TV18 to hive off its internet biz; Q4 net up 112% at Rs 219 million

    TV18 to hive off its internet biz; Q4 net up 112% at Rs 219 million

    MUMBAI: Television Eighteen has decided to hive off its internet ventures and consolidate it into a new wholly owned subsidiary to bring sharper focus and growth momentum to these operations.

    The internet subsidiary plans to raise capital from financial or strategic investors. TV18 board, which met today, has authorised the subsidiary of any such exercises to raise capital.

    TV18 has been acquiring internet properties to create a bouquet. The company recently acquired a 50 per cent stake in the Indian arm of Jobstreet.com. Eariler in the year, it had invested in Yatra Online where other investors included Anil Ambani’s Reliance Capital and Norwest Venture Partners (NVP) – Promod Haque’s leading venture capital firm.

    The company also manages online platforms which include moneycontrol.com, commoditiescontrol.com, poweryourtrade.com and ibnlive.com.

    The board of TV18 also announced the results. The company’s consolidated net profit is up 112 per cent to Rs 219.15 million for the quarter ended 31 March 2006 as against Rs 103.36 million a year ago.

    The company’s revenues rose 66 per cent to Rs 535.10 million in the last quarter of the fiscal with news operations contributing Rs 474.75 million (up from Rs 310.96 million). The earnings from the internet and software operations were at Rs 60.35 million, up six times from a year ago period.

    The revenues from Awaaz and CNN-IBN channels are not reflected in the Q4 result. The company’s operating profit stands at Rs 306.59 million while operating margins are at 57 per cent.

    The group is all set to re-launch Channel 7 in new avatar in June. The group has recently, acquired a 50 per cent interest in Indian arm of Jobstreet.com.

    Commenting on the result Television Eighteen promoter Raghav Bahl said, “We are delighted to report a record quarter for the company – in terms of revenue performance and the spectacular success of CNN-IBN – which in just five months of launch has become the dominant player in the English General News category, firmly establishing the TV18 Group as India’s Premier News Network. We believe our new initiatives in the internet and home shopping spaces too will contribute significantly to our future growth.”

    TV18 opened at Rs 609.85 and closed the trading day at Rs 627.60, after touching a high of Rs 646 and a low od Rs 625.