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  • #Throwback2020: People’s movement in the Indian news industry

    #Throwback2020: People’s movement in the Indian news industry

    NEW DELHI: The year 2020 saw a number of news outlets either going through a revamp, shutting down operations, or embarking on a path of vigorous growth. All this led to a substantial to and fro of personnel in the industry. Here’s the first part of the year-end series on people’s movements in the India’s news industry: 

    On new roads

    The year saw a number of prominent names hopping channels and taking up new roles and responsibilities. While some moved within the industry, some veered off on alternate career paths. And there were some who entered the news world from completely different universes. 

    Senior journalist Nidhi Razdan decided to move on from NDTV and started afresh as an educator at Harvard University. 

     

     

    Senior journalist Bhupendra Chaubey, who was associated with CNN News18 for nearly 15 years, parted ways with the organisation in April this year to join Andhra Prabha Publications as group-editor-in-chief and CEO. He has shouldered the responsibility of leading the group’s foray in the world of broadcasting. He is currently managing 12 editions of the newspaper and the English language news channel India Ahead. 

     

     

    A close aide of Chaubey from CNN News18, Sudip Mukhiya preceded his entry at India Ahead. He joined as group president – newsroom and editorial strategies. Senior journalist Jacob Mathew also came onboard as director news. 

    Amit Goel, who has earlier worked with print publications like The Economic Times and The Pioneer, came in as India Ahead president – national editorial affairs. Producer and filmmaker Arjun Pandey joined the team as president – sales, marketing and strategies. Broadcaster and publisher Sudha Sadanand came onboard as president – editorial affairs. A former senior editor from The Economic Times, Rishi Joshi was also hired by the channel. 

    Zee Entertainment executive cluster head – innovation studio & custom content Raktim Das joined TV9 Network as COO – Studio 9.

    Another senior journalist, Ajay Kumar ended his association with News Nation as managing editor and went to India TV as a consulting editor. The channel also brought in DB Star – Dainik Bhaskar, Bhopal editor Anand Pandey as editor – research and planning. Further, it welcomed Jayprakash Singh back after a gap of two years as chief of bureau – Mumbai. 

    BBC India’s digital editor Milind Khandekar stepped down from his post after a short stint of one-and-a-half years and joined TV Today Network Ltd as managing editor of Tak Channels.

    Milind Khandekar

    TV9 Network, in line with its agenda to revamp its digital businesses, found the editor and business head for business content vertical in Rakesh Khar, who bid adieu to his company of six years, Network18. Additionally, the organisation also got on board Amit Tripathi, yet another resource from Network18, as its chief revenue officer. It also welcomed Zee Media Corporation’s former SVP Manish Seth as its EVP.

    Earlier this year, Network18 (IBN7) deputy managing editor Sumit Awasthi exited the channel to join ABP Network as VP – news and production. 

    Zee Hindustan hired Shamsher Singh as its managing editor. He has worked with networks like TV Today, India TV and Republic Bharat in the past.

    Sun TV Network got News18 Tamil Nadu’s M Gunasekaran as its new editor-in-chief. He was instrumental in commissioning the launch of News18 Tamil Nadu, right from setting up an office in Chennai to building up a robust team of top journalists and reporters. 

    Erstwhile India TV political editor Jayanta Ghoshal left the news outlet after a brief stint of one year and was appointed by the West Bengal government to liaise with the central government. 

    Jayanta Ghoshal

    Sahara News Network group editor Manoj Manu stepped down to join India News Network as executive editor. Sunita Rajan left CNN as SVP -advertising sales to enter Bloomberg Media as MD for media sales and marketing in APAC. Rajesh Kalra moved on from the post of chief editor at Times Internet and joined Asianet News Media and Entertainment Pvt Ltd (AMEL) as executive chairman. 

    Times Now executive editor and head of output Vivek Narayan quit to head Network18’s regional language network in south India as the managing editor. India Today roped in senior journalist Prabhu Chawla as an editorial consultant for TVTN while he also continued his association with The New Indian Express. 

    PopXO’s former head of engineering, Piyush Yadav joined ScoopWhoop Media as head of technology. Warner Media’s former associate director – sales Pooja Madan went to Republic Media Network to take up the position of sales director – north & east. 

    Additionally, SonyLIV Sports head of monetisation Maruti Indoria joined Network 18 as business head for CricketNext in March this year. Zee Innovation Studio’s national vertical head Gaurav Mehra ended the association and flitted to TV9 Network as VP of its TV and digital convergence specialist unit TV9. 

    Disney India’s Pawan Sharma, who was the national head – revenue (branded content and Bindass), joined News18 Network as sales head – focus, Hindi, and language cluster.

    Pawan Sharma

    CNN News 18’s Utkarsh Anand moved to Hindustan Times as its legal editor. 

    On the other hand, Pradip Khatri left India TV as a general manager and head of marketing to join DigiVidyapeeth Learning. 

    Vikatan VP and vertical head – print Sunder Thiyagarajan, and head – business development and brand marketing Prakash Sankaranarayanan also quit this year. While Thiyagarajan co-founded The Idea Factory and is also acting as its COO, Sanjaranarayanan has yet to share his next move.

    Mathrubhumi TV and Kappa TV CEO Mohan Nair too ended his over nine-year-long stint with the network this year. He hasn’t disclosed his plans for the future yet.

    Mohan Nair

    Before the shutting down of Mint, its editor-in-chief Vinay Kamat and managing editor Anil Padmanabhan resigned. They are yet to announce their next. Kamat was replaced by Sruthijith KK. 

    The Hindu Business Line editor R Srinivasan announced his retirement as well. The senior journalist was with the newspaper for the last nine years.  He was earlier associated with media houses like BCCL, Business Standard, Ananda Bazar Patrika Limited, HT Media and Mail Today. 
     

  • #Throwback2020: The year of noise in the news industry

    #Throwback2020: The year of noise in the news industry

    NEW DELHI: It would be no exaggeration to describe 2020 as a nightmarish sequence straight out of an apocalyptic film – with a global pandemic throwing the world in turmoil, disturbing footage of numerous coffins being lowered into the ground, a number of beloved celebrities breathing their last, and a sense of uncertainty looming over everyone’s head. Industries across sectors battled production-stoppages, demand changes, cash crunch, and had to make many tough choices for sustenance. It was no different for the Indian news industry. While the year also turned out to be a hot bed of controversies, the businesses also won big on certain levels. It went through its own set of good, bad and ugly moments through the year. 

    Innovations, launches & rebrandings

    Despite the prevailing state of affairs, 2020 was marked by new beginnings. Several prime media outlets including ABP News Network, Zee Hindustan, Suvarna News, News18 Rajasthan, India Ahead, and Hindustan Times got rebranded. Apart from that, Republic launched its Hindi and Bengali websites, and TV9 and AajTak entered the Bangla digital news market. TV9 also forayed into the business content vertical this year.

    In terms of innovation, apart from stellar programming line-ups and marketing for Delhi, Bihar, and the US elections, special programmes for Covid2019 coverage, some media houses experimented in their offerings too. While Republic Bharat and Republic TV started streaming on e-commerce platform Flipkart, TOI launched a unique print-linked digital game called Times Housie Plus. 

    The frontline battle with the pandemic

    While most of the world went into a work-from-home mode, hundreds of journalists joined the frontline forces battling the pandemic, keeping the 24×7 news cycles running for channels, digital outlets, and the print medium. From doing pathbreaking on-ground coverage from red-zone areas, walking alongside migrant labourers for miles, and brave journalism on cases like Hathras and the farmer’s protests, to holistic reporting on Bihar and the US elections, the Indian news industry tried its best to keep citizens well-informed. In fact, to a large extent the news media played a huge role in helping control the spread of the novel coronavirus by running campaigns advising citizens to stay home, and updating viewers about the latest news on the killer disease’s spread as well as measures being taken to bring it under control. News viewership on TV recorded a staggering 298 per cent growth during the initial 21-day lockdown, as per BARC data, as citizens struggled to stay informed in a world that seemed to be going insane. 

    While media outlets were burning the midnight oil with full gusto, the pandemic hit them hard on the ad revenue and subscription front, which in turn led to a number of job losses, pay cuts, and shutdowns.

    Outlook Magazine was one of the first to go under a temporary shutdown earlier this year, followed by The Bloomberg Quint shutting down its TV division, Sakal Media Group pulling the plug on Sakal Times and Gomantak Times, India Today network shuttering Delhi AajTak, and Times Group bidding adieu to Pune Mirror and relaunching Mumbai Mirror as a weekly. Several editions and bureaus of leading national newspaper shut down, and journalists once used to fat salaries and comfortable jobs were suddenly evicted from their desks and on to the streets. The cost cutting ran across hundreds of media organisations which suddenly saw advertisers vanishing into the distant horizon and showing very little signs of returning for most of the year. Thousands across media lost their jobs while some in NDTV, Quint, Times Group, India Today, Network18, etc bore the brunt of salary cuts for the major part of the year. 

    Controversies galore

    News media became a breeding ground for controversies in 2020 with many CEOs getting embroiled in police cases. Sanket Media director PVS Sarma got arrested by the enforcement directorate in a PMLA case. Republic TV and its ringmaster Arnab Goswami found themselves in a soup for their coverage on sensational topics like Palghar lynching, Bandra migrant crisis, Sushant Singh Rajput’s demise and then got accused of rigging the ratings. Goswami was also arrested in an alleged, dismissed abetment to suicide case from 2018, which he maintains is a case of vendetta against him by the Mumbai police chief commissioner ParamBir Singh for his critical reporting against the way Rajput’s case was being handled.  The  Mumbai police also booked the channel’s senior management and editorial staff for airing the news about a “revolt” against commissioner Param Bir Singh by the police force. 

    An ABP Majha reporter got ensnared in the Bandra migrant crisis controversy when his name appeared in an FIR, citing that his false reportage played a role in gathering the crowd there. However, he was later released by the Supreme Court, which ruled that no direct connection could be established between his reporting and the people collecting at Bandra railway station.

    Additionally, four prominent associations from Bollywood along with 34 leading producers filed a lawsuit against Republic TV and Times Now for irresponsible reporting in the Rajput case and vilifying the film industry. The channels were directed by the Delhi high court to refrain from posting any derogatory content. They were reprimanded by the court thus: “Media can't run a parallel trial. You're a broadcaster… show news. There is less news and more opinion… things are being pre-judged.”

     

     

    Zee News editor-in-chief Sudhir Chaudhary was named in an FIR registered by Kerala police for presenting “a programme that is offending the Muslim religion.”

    “The highlight of the show on 11 March was the ‘jihad chart.’ In his show, he explained to his viewers what the chart detailed: ‘types of jihad,’” the report stated.

     

     

    Another news channel that faced severe flak and action from the courts was Sudarshan News and its show Bindas Bol that somehow managed to find ‘jihad’ in the UPSC. 

    The TRP turmoil

    While all the channels worked hard to gain audiences, allegations of TRP manipulationerupted when the Mumbai police commissioner held a press conference stating that channels were paying viewers to say they were watching them.  Amongst those who were accused were the promoters of Fakt Marathi, Box Cinema and Republic TV. The latter had been running a campaign against the Mumbai police commissioner and the Maharashtra government led by Uddhav Thackeray about the Rajput investigation. The channel stated that the empire was fighting back, that ed-in-chief Arnab Goswami had nothing to do with any TRP shenanigans. But the police force picked him forcibly from his home and kept him in custody for seven days. And they kept on arresting more and more Republic TV executives; the harder Arnab cried and yelled unfair on TV, the harder they came down upon him and his team. At the time of writing, 12 arrests had been made, withthe latest being that of  Republic TV CEO Vikas Khanchandani.

    In response to the scandal, the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) decided to suspend the measurement of television viewership ratings of all news channels for 12 weeks.

    “Besides augmenting current protocols and benchmarking them with global standards, BARC is actively exploring several options to discourage unlawful inducement of its panel home viewers and further strengthening its code of conduct to address viewership malpractice," BARC CEO Sunil Lulla had said in a statement.

    Integrity questioned

    Probably the worst thing that could have happened to the industry this year was the scathing attacks it faced on its integrity as slew of fake news and “polarised opinions” battered the screens throughout the year. Several advertisers, like Parle and Bajaj, also said they would be forced to pull out monies from “toxic” news channels.

    It was in February this year when several leading news channels covering the Jamia violence had falsely claimed that the wallet held in a student’s hands was a stone. Additionally, the students who were sitting in the library covering their faces to protect themselves from tear-gas shelling were called “rioters.” 

     

     

    The same month, Wall Street Journal found itself mired in controversy as a police complaint was registered against it for spreading ‘fake news’ on the death of IB officer Ankit Sharma. The publication was said to be “defaming a particular religion” as they ran an interview of Sharma’s brother, who later said that he never made such a statement.

     

     

    Then there was the scrum of fake news and disinformation surrounding the pandemic. It started with running scores of unverified or false reports on the role of Tablighi Jamaat in spreading the virus. A number of officials and city police sources had to clarify many myths, chiefly being peddled by several media outlets.

    The Saharanpur police debunked the narrative of publications like Amar Ujala and Rajasthan Patrika that quarantined Tablighis in the city defecated in the open at the facility after being denied non-vegetarian food. 

     

     

    The Arunachal Pradesh police called out Zee News for spreading false information about Coronavirus cases. The channel had claimed that 11 Tablighi members tested positive in the state, when in fact there was just one reported case of the virus infection there.

     

    Noida police, too, cracked the whip on ANI News for misquoting and misreporting a quarantine exercise.

     

    These are just a handful of the many instances of false reporting against the Jamaat,as well as the false narratives spun by news organisations amid the pandemic. From ABP News inventing a non-existing ICMR report stating how the lockdown lowered the Covid infections below expectations, to News18 misreporting SAARC nations and other countries joining PM Modi’sinitiative of lighting candles as a show of support for frontline warriors, to News 24 sharing old clips of namaz at Jama Masjid to claim that mass gatherings were happening during the lockdown, to the travesty that Bandra railway station became during the migrant crisis, the news industry blaredunwarranted noise this year. 

    Most recently, several news channels including AajTak, ABP News, Times Now and Republic Bharat, engaged in high-pitch rhetoric for hours on the evening of 19 November, over a purported airstrike by Indian forces in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Eventually, PIB had to clear the air around this fake news in a tweet. 

     

     

    Another black chapter that Indian media outlets wrote for themselves was when they started on their own will, a highly dramatised and unseemly media trial in the alleged Sushant Singh Rajput suicide case, which begged the question if there was any integrity or sensitivity left in the news industry. 

    From splashing on screens the disturbing images of the actor’s dead body,shoving microphones into his grieving father’s face, to running a bogus post mortem on live television, news channels hit new lows in their quest for higher TRPs. Given this sorry state of affairs, the Press Council of India had to advise media outlets to adhere to the norms of journalistic conduct in their reportage. 

     

     

    News outlets went hammer and tongs after Rajput’s paramour Rhea Chakraborty for her alleged, and till now unproven connection to Sushant Singh Rajput’s death. From sensational headlines to character shaming, Indian news channels stooped as low as they could to grab every bit of misinformation, they could show the world. Personal privacy went for a toss as they accessed and “investigated” primetime actors’ leaked text messages. Also, Times Now anchors were seen struggling with millennial lingo as they thought “Imma Bounce” meant a check getting bounced. 

     

     

    So, this was all the noise that newsrooms generatedin 2020. While the industry was lauded for its efforts to deal with the pandemic and keep the news cycle grinding on, it was also questioned for its reportage. No doubt, the TRP scandal has left an indelible blot on its image. However, some channels have told Indiantelevision.com that they are taking this year as a lesson and using the time of TRP suspension to work on their content. Whether or not this year leads to a serious course correction, only time will tell. 

  • Times Internet rolls back pay cuts as business picks up

    Times Internet rolls back pay cuts as business picks up

    KOLKATA: As media companies start seeing a rebound in business after the initial shock of the Covid2019 crisis, many of the biggies have begun rolling back pay cuts. The latest addition to the list is Times Internet Limited (TIL).

    In a virtual fireside chat hosted by Indiantelevision.com, TIL COO Puneet Gupt said that employee salaries are back to the original levels and variables have been paid as well. While many media organisations are reducing team sizes, TIL has started selective hiring. In fact, TIL has seen gradual growth in last four-five months as market forces gain equilibrium, Gupt said.

    Recently, New Delhi Television Ltd (NDTV) also said that it has ended salary cuts imposed on employees in the wake of the pandemic. According to media reports, major broadcasters like ZeeL, Viacom18, Star & Disney India also ended pay cuts starting from end September.

  • NDTV group posts Rs 17.6 crore profit in Q2.

    NDTV group posts Rs 17.6 crore profit in Q2.

    KOLKATA: The  Prannoy and Radhika Roy-led NDTV group has posted Rs 17.6 crore profit for the quarter ended 30 September 2020. This marks a turnaround in profitability of Rs 28 crores over the same quarter last year, when the company had reported a consolidated loss of Rs 10.5 crore.

    According to a regulatory filing, the group’s broadcast company NDTV Ltd has earned a profit of Rs 5.3 crores, which is a turnaround of Rs 15.5 crores over the same quarter last year. NDTV has stated this is the best H1 (first half of financial year) result for the television group in its history.  

    Despite the slowdown of the economy with the onset of the pandemic, the group has reduced its bank borrowings by Rs 22 crores since the start of this financial year.

    NDTV Convergence, the digital arm of the group, has improved its revenue by a record 31 per cent over last year and its EBITDA is at an all-time high of 39 per cent.

    “NDTV is very proud of and grateful for the whole-hearted support extended to it by all employees, many of whom took a pay cut in the first half of the financial year. The management of the group continues to focus on shoring against any impact of the pandemic which could play out over the rest of the financial year,” the company stated.

  • NT Awards 2020: And the winners are…

    NT Awards 2020: And the winners are…

    NEW DELHI: Indiantelevision.com concluded the much-coveted News Television Awards in a virtual ceremony today. Conferring the honours was Indiantelevision.com founder and editor-in-chief Anil Wanvari. The event was powered by TVU Networks.

    Over 120 awards were presented to multiple news media groups and eminent personalities in the industry. News channels were awarded in multiple categories – Programming Awards, Promo – Design – Packaging Award, Sales & Marketing Awards, Special Awards. These included the likes of Zee, Aaj Tak, NDTV, India Today, Wion, TV9 Telugu, ABP News, Odisha TV, ABP Ananda, Zee Rajasthan, News18 Lokmat and others.

    A round of personality awards were conferred to anchors, journalists, producers, cameraperson, video editor, and others. Some of the winners in the category include CNBC TV18 managing editor Shereen Bhan, India Today & Aaj Tak news director Rahul Kanwal, Aaj Tak’s Rohit Sardana, Zee 24 Kalak’s Janak Sutaria, Wion’s Digvijay Singh Deo, NDTV India's Nidhi Kulpati and others.

    The Hall of Fame Award went to India Today vice-chairperson Kalli Purie.

    The complete list of winners is shared here.

  • Festive cheer in news organisations as pay cuts are reversed

    Festive cheer in news organisations as pay cuts are reversed

    NEW DELHI: Months after the Coronavirus reared its ugly head and made a shambles of the economy, the news industry is slowly coming out of the woods. This is apparent from the fact that several news organisations have reversed pay cuts that were introduced with the onset of the Covid2019 pandemic. Some players have even announced appraisals for their staff, making the festive period brighter. 

    Here's a look at the news media groups who signalled 'all is well' with the business through their recent actions:

    1. NDTV

    NDTV said on Tuesday that it ended the pay cuts of its employees with effect from October 1. The network had slashed salaries by 10-40 per cent on a graded scale based on different slabs with effect from 1 April 1 2020. Employees earning Rs 50,000 or less per month were exempt from any pay cut.

    2. India Today Group

    India Today Group promoted several key people within the organisation and also announced appraisals for the staff. Vice chairperson Kallie Purie said, “I am looking forward to our annual exercise that acknowledges merit and hard work. So, a big shout out to the efforts of our salesforce heroes that are making this financially viable and allowing me the privilege to declare appraisals. I have sanctioned the encashment of up to 15 days of accumulated leave for all employees. Those not eligible or those who don’t want leave encashment could choose a Diwali voucher.”

    3. The Indian Express Digital

    The digital arm of the Indian Express group also reversed the temporary pay cut that was announced in April for its employees. As per reports, the staff took up to 30 per cent pay cut in their monthly salaries in the wake of the pandemic. 

    4. Network18

    Reliance Industries Ltd, which owns and manages the Network18 Media, announced the rollback of salary cuts in October. The conglomerate also said it would be handing over performance bonuses that were deferred when businesses took a hit at the outset of the Coronavirus-fuelled lockdown. Reportedly, the group had enforced pay cuts between 10 and 50 per cent for its employees across businesses.

  • NDTV ends all pay cuts

    NDTV ends all pay cuts

    NEW DELHI: It seems that the media industry is on the fast track to recovery as companies have started rolling back pay cuts, passing on the arrears and some have even promised to kickstart appraisal process for employees.

    In the latest development, NDTV has announced that it has ended all pay cuts for staff. After a careful review of its business, the company has decided that effective 1 October 2020, salary cuts will end for those employees who were impacted by a 20-40 per cent cut. It mentioned that all pay cuts stand reversed, effective 1 October and arrears for the month of October will be paid before Diwali.

    These pay cuts were introduced on 1 April this year on account of the economic uncertainty caused by the Covid2019 pandemic. Salaries were slashed by 10-40 per cent on a graded scale based on different slabs. Employees earning Rs 50,000 per month or less were exempted from any pay cut.

    NDTV expressed its gratitude to all its employees for their unwavering support and the senior staff for ensuring that junior colleagues were protected through the manner in which pay cuts were introduced and then removed.

    In the last fortnight, several media organizations are making the effort to return to normal such as Network18, Indian Express, India Today Group and others. It will be interesting to see how this pans out in the days to come.

  • Cisco ups Prerna Suri to Asean communications head

    Cisco ups Prerna Suri to Asean communications head

    MUMBAI: IT and  networking major Cisco has promoted Prerna Suri as head of communications, southeast Asia as of August 2020. She joined Cisco from Facebook as communications manager APJC in March 2020, and in six months she has been pushed up the ladder and will be based in Singapore.

    Her job profile consists of leading Cisco’s communications efforts in Asean (south east Asia), a diverse region, with unique perspectives and opportunities. Her work includes collaborating with senior leaders, crafting strategic messaging, managing media relations, responding to crises and helping teams with their communications’ needs across Asean.

    Prerna has previously worked for organisations such as the UN in information roles, and in news outlets such as Channel News Asia, NDTV, and Al-Jazeera as a journalist.

    She holds a master’s degree from the London School of Economics and a bachelor of arts in journalism from India's prestigious Lady Shri Ram College for Women.

  • NDTV bottom-line black despite revenue decline in Covid2019 quarter

    NDTV bottom-line black despite revenue decline in Covid2019 quarter

    BENGALURU: The Prannoy and Radhika Roy-led Indian media house New Delhi Television Ltd (NDTV) reported 33.7 percent lower year-on-year (y-o-y) consolidated revenue from operations for the quarter ended 30 June 2020 (Q1 2021, quarter or period under review) as compared to the corresponding quarter of the previous year Q1 2020 and 21.5 percent lower than that reported for the immediate trailing quarter Q4 2020. Despite the sharp drop in consolidated operating revenue, the company reported consolidated profit after tax (PAT) of Rs 7.55 crore for the quarter under review, albeit 54.7 percent lower than the Rs 16.66 crore in Q1 2020 and 17.9 percent lower q-o-q than the Rs 9.20 crore reported for Q4 2020.  Reported consolidated operating revenues for Q1 2021, Q1 2020 and Q4 2020 were Rs 72.73 crore, Rs 109.67 crore and Rs 92.60 crore respectively.  All figures mentioned in this paper are consolidated unless stated otherwise.

    Total income including other revenue for Q1 2021 declined 35 percent y-o-y to Rs 74.02 crore from Rs 113.87 crore in Q1 2020 and declined 27.4 percent from Rs 102 crore in Q4 2020. Calculated consolidated operating profit or simple operating EBITDA for the period under consideration was 36.8 percent lower y-o-y at Rs 15.98 crore (22 percent of operating revenue) as compared to Rs 25.29 crore (23.1 percent of operating revenue) for Q1 2020, but 40.4 percent higher q-o-q than the Rs 11.38 crore (12.3 percent of operating revenue) for Q4 2020.

    Even before the lockdown, the company has been cutting expenses. Consolidated total expenses for Q1 2021 declined 31.2 percent y-o-y to Rs 64.64 crore from Rs 93.96 crore in Q1 2020 and were 27.8 percent lower q-o-q than the Rs 89.49 crore in Q4 2020.  Production expenses and cost of services in Q1 2021 declined 52.5 percent y-o-y to Rs 11.47 crore from Rs 24.16 crore in Q1 2020 and fell 43.6 percent q-o-q from Rs 20.32 crore in Q4 2020. Employee benefits expenses in Q1 2021 were 28.8 percent lower y-o-y at Rs 22.39 crore as compared to Rs 31.46 crore in Q1 2020 and declined 24.2 percent q-o-q from Rs 29.54 crore in Q4 2020.

    Finance costs declined 11.4 percent y-o-y during the period under review to Rs 2.57 crore from Rs 2.90 crore in Q1 2020, but increased 1.6 percent q-o-q from Rs 2.53 crore in Q4 2020. Operating and administrative expenses for Q1 2021 fell 13.5 percent y-o-y to Rs 14.28 crore from Rs 16.51 crore and reduced 32.2 percent q-o-q from Rs 21.07 crore in Q4 2020. Marketing, distribution and promotional expenses for Q1 2021 were 29.7 percent lower y-o-y at Rs 8.61 crore as compared to Rs 12.25 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year and 16.3 percent lower q-o-q that the Rs 10.29 crore in the immediate trailing quarter.

    NDTV has two segments – television, media and related operations; and retail/e-commerce. NDTV has reported nil revenue and nil result for the latter for Q2 2021.

    Television segment operating revenue declined 33.3 percent y-o-y in Q1 2021 to Rs 72.73 crore from Rs 108.98 crore in Q1 2020 and was 20.8 percent lower q-o-q than Rs 91.80 crore in Q4 2020. NDTV reported 46.8 percent y-o-y decline in operating profit before exceptional items, share in profit/ (loss) of associate/ joint ventures, interest and tax to Rs 14.70 crore in Q1 2021 from Rs 27.64 crore in Q1 2020 and 20.7 percent lower than Rs 18.54 crore in Q4 2020.

    In note 1 of NDTV’s financial statement it is explained that parent company, which runs television business, has earned a standalone net profit of Rs 4.42 crore (Rs 442 lakh) during the quarter ended 30 June 2020 and, as of that date, the parent company’s current liabilities exceed its current assets by Rs 79.35 crores (Rs 7935 lakh). These conditions, along with other matters described in the note, indicate that a material uncertainty exists that may cast significant doubt on the ability of the parent company to continue as a going concern. The management has stated that the parent company has initiated certain strategic and operational measures included in note one to mitigate the uncertainty. Accordingly, they have prepared the statement on a going concern basis.

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  • NDTV to end pay cuts for employees

    NDTV to end pay cuts for employees

    KOLKATA: To fight the uncertainty caused by Covid2019 pandemic, many organisations resorted to pay cuts to take forward the business. While NDTV announced a salary cut in April, it will end pay cuts for all employees who took a 10-20 per cent cut, effective 1 August.

    It announced the salary cut from 1 April for a period of three months, "subject to detailed review at the end of the period." It also mentioned that there would be no cuts for employees earning less than Rs 50,000 a month.

    At the time of announcing pay cut, NDTV said that it was "forced to undertake certain cost-cutting measures" as a result of the "impact of decreasing advertisement revenue accelerated by the onset of the Covid2019 pandemic, together with the uncertainty surrounding the recovery of the global and Indian economy."

    “Upon review, it has been decided that through 1 July, the existing pay cuts shall continue but effective 1 August 2020, NDTV Group will end pay cuts for all employees who took a pay cut between 10-20 per cent,” it informed stock exchanges on Monday evening.