ITV

Tag: NDTV WorldWide

  • NDTV accelerates growth spending as revenue climbs in transformation push

    NDTV accelerates growth spending as revenue climbs in transformation push

    NEW DELHI: NDTV is pressing the accelerator on its transformation strategy, ramping up investment in marketing and expansion even as revenue growth gains momentum. The Adani-controlled broadcaster posted a 12 per cent increase in half-year revenue to Rs 230 crore whilst completing a Rs 396 crore oversubscribed rights issue and merging four subsidiaries to streamline operations.

    Revenue from operations rose 10 per cent year-on-year to Rs 123 crore in the September quarter on a consolidated basis, reflecting improving traction as the company positions itself for a new era. For the six months ended September, the top line climbed to Rs 230 crore from Rs 205 crore, signalling steady progress in a fiercely competitive media landscape.

    The numbers reveal a company making bold strategic bets. Marketing, distribution and promotional expenses surged 33 per cent to Rs 115 crore for the half-year—a clear signal that management is prioritising audience acquisition and brand visibility over short-term profitability. The September quarter alone saw Rs 58 crore deployed towards growth initiatives, up 29 per cent year-on-year.

    “This is classic growth investing,” said one analyst who tracks the media sector. “NDTV is leveraging its capital raise to build market share and strengthen its competitive position whilst the fundamentals improve.”

    The rights issue, completed on 9 October, was oversubscribed 1.11 times, with proceeds specifically earmarked for expansion, brand-building, debt reduction and corporate purposes. The successful raise increased paid-up capital from Rs 26 crore to Rs 45 crore, providing ammunition for the company’s ambitious reinvention plans.

    NDTV also executed a major structural overhaul, merging NDTV Networks, NDTV Worldwide, NDTV Media and NDTV Labs into the parent company with effect from 1 October. The consolidation, sanctioned by the regional director of the ministry of corporate affairs, is designed to eliminate operational silos and create a more agile organisation. Authorised share capital now stands at Rs 237 crore.

    The broadcaster is simultaneously pursuing inorganic growth. NDTV has entered a binding term sheet to acquire the GoodTimes channel and associated intellectual property from Lifestyle & Media Broadcasting, pending regulatory approval from the ministry of information and broadcasting. The deal would expand the company’s content portfolio and distribution footprint.

    Management changes underscore the focus on operational excellence. Akhil Kumar Gupta, a chartered accountant with 19 years’ experience spanning media, infrastructure, healthcare and entertainment, will assume the chief financial officer role from 1 December. Gupta, who previously held senior positions at Adani Enterprises, Zydus Lifesciences and Bharti Airtel, brings deep expertise in financial transformation, digital systems and strategic decision-making. He replaces Anup Dutta, who reaches superannuation.

    The board also re-appointed independent director Viral Jagdish Doshi for a second three-year term beginning January 2026, ensuring continuity in governance as the company navigates its transition.

    NDTV’s investment phase reflects a calculated gamble: sacrifice near-term margins to capture long-term market share in India’s rapidly evolving media ecosystem. With a freshly capitalised balance sheet, a streamlined corporate structure, and aggressive growth spending, the broadcaster is positioning itself as a serious player in the battle for eyeballs and advertising rupees.

    Whether the strategy succeeds depends on execution—and whether revenue growth can eventually outpace the current marketing blitz. But for now, NDTV is signalling it has both the resources and the resolve to compete. The transformation is underway, and the company isn’t holding back.

  • NDTV to set up subsidiary for convergence & tech biz; plans to enter e-commerce

    NDTV to set up subsidiary for convergence & tech biz; plans to enter e-commerce

    MUMBAI: News broadcaster New Delhi Television Ltd (NDTV) is setting up a new subsidiary where it will park its convergence and technology businesses.

     

    The company has also decided to enter into e-commerce business through its subsidiary, NDTV Worldwide.

     

    In the restructured form, NDTV Ltd will, thus, have four subsidiaries, each looking after a separate business. While NDTV News will take care of the news broadcasting business, NDTV Worldwide will be responsible for the media consultancy and e-commerce part. NDTV Network will constitute the lifestyle business and the fourth subsidiary will combine Convergence and NDTV Labs, which will manage the content delivery aspect of NDTV’s business.

        
    As part of an exercise to simplify the structure, NDTV Labs will get merged into NDTV Convergence. “This was the most natural step to take. Convergence is a growing business,” said NDTV Group vice-chairperson KVL Narayan Rao said.

     

    NDTV Convergence was set up to exploit the synergies between television, Internet and mobile and it also owns the website ndtv.com. NDTV Labs focuses on development of broadcast graphics systems.

     

    Asked if NDTV is merging the step-down subsidiaries for raising capital or bringing in an investor, Rao said, “This is not why it is being done. Convergence is self-funded.”

     

    For the year ended 31 March 2012, NDTV Convergence recorded a fivefold jump in net profit. Revenue rose by 60 per cent over the last fiscal year.

     

    NDTV WorldWide also turned profitable. Net profit doubled in the fiscal ended 31 March 2012, while revenue tripled over the year-ago period. NDTV, however, does not disclose the exact financials of these two outfits.

  • NDTV narrows Q4 standalone net loss to Rs 158.7 mn

    NDTV narrows Q4 standalone net loss to Rs 158.7 mn

    MUMBAI: News broadcaster NDTV Ltd has narrowed its standalone fiscal final quarter net loss to Rs 158.7 million, from Rs 231.7 million a year ago.

    The company has managed to reduce the net loss on the back of “sustainable cost rationalisation”, even if its income from operations saw a 10.59 per cent dip.

    Income from operations for the quarter under review stood at Rs 967.2 million, as against Rs 1.08 billion a year ago.

    NDTV also posted standalone loss from operations (before other income, interest & exceptional items) of Rs 16.9 million, against a profit of Rs 83.5 million in the earlier year.

    Expenses from news operations stood at Rs 997.6 million, compared to Rs 1.03 billion in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal.

    For the full fiscal, NDTV’s standalone net loss came down to Rs 191.5 million, from a net loss of Rs 986.3 million in the earlier year. Income from operations went up by almost 5 per cent to Rs 3.63 billion, from Rs 3.46 billion.

    NDTV’s FY’2011-12 loss from operations (before other income, interest & exceptional items) came down to Rs 200 million, compared to a loss of Rs 426.4 million a year ago.

    Though expenses remained flat at Rs 3.98 billion (from Rs 3.97 billion), NDTV said that the company has undertaken a group-wide exercise to improve efficiencies and cut wasteful expenses, while “ensuring that content and production values are not compromised”.

    “As a result, there has been a significant 16 per cent reduction in operating and administration expenses over the last financial year,” it said.

    On a consolidated basis, NDTV posted a net loss of Rs 413.3 million for the quarter ended 31 March 2012, as against a net loss of Rs 608 million a year ago.

    Income from operations on a consolidated basis grew marginally to Rs 1.35 billion (from Rs 1.32 billion), while total expenses stood at Rs 1.42 billion, compared to Rs 1.48 billion.

    For the fiscal ended 31 March 2011, NDTV posted a consolidated net loss of Rs 873.8 million, as against a net loss of Rs 1.74 billion in the earlier year. Income from operations stood at Rs 4.74 billion, up from Rs 4.23 billion a year ago, while expenses rose marginally to Rs 5.31 billion, from Rs 5.27 billion.

    NDTV also said that its new businesses are giving rise to new revenue streams. It said that NDTV Good Times continued its reign as the numero uno lifestyle channel in India. NDTV Lifestyle, which operates the channel NDTV Good Times, witnessed a “significant rise in revenues, reporting around 38 per cent growth over the last fiscal year”.

    Meanwhile, NDTV Convergence, which operates the Internet and mobile business of the group, recorded a five-fold jump in PAT for the year ended 31 March 2012. Revenues rose by 60 per cent over the last fiscal year.

    NDTV WorldWide has turned profitable. “PAT for NDTV WorldWide, the media consultancy business of the group, doubled during the year ended 31 March 2012. Revenues tripled over the last fiscal year,” NDTV said.

    In the one-time write-off, the company said, “The major exceptional items relate to closure of operations of Turner General Entertainment, which operated the General Entertainment Channel, ‘Imagine’ (earlier, known as ‘NDTV Imagine’ prior to sale of stake to the Time Warner group), in which NDTV had retained a minor stake. Further, an investment in a listed entity, whose market value has reduced significantly, has also been provided for.”