ITV

Tag: NDTV

  • “Four smaller channels don’t match up to Times Now:” Arnab Goswami

    “Four smaller channels don’t match up to Times Now:” Arnab Goswami

    MUMBAI: Reporting an event and informing viewers with occurrences from that event is no longer enough for a news channel in India. Week 23 of calendar year 2015 showed the television industry some never before incidences.

    When the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India announced its ratings for week 22, it showed how India Today Television pipped Times Now to take the pole position in the English News genre. And that’s something Times Now did not like!

     

    The zest to go back to number one saw Times Now and ET Now news president and editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami getting into action mode on the first day of the week, which incidentally is Sunday – a day when he is generally off action. The Sushma Swaraj – Lalit Modi controversy turned out to be just the right fodder and Goswami exploited the opportunity by covering the news as extensively as possible. The action that began in the Times Now studio certainly irked the then number one India Today Television’s Rahul Kanwal and he even took to Twitter to express his disdain by tweeting the following:

    Not only that, another tweet from Kanwal read as below:

    While Goswami in his coverage mentioned time and again that he broke the Keith Vaz – Lalit Modi story, Kanwal tweeted his reservations thus:

    The week got over, Times Now regained pole position after securing 345 (000s sum), whereas India Today Television managed 151 (000s sum) followed by NDTV 129 (000s sum). 

     

    Commenting on the ratings and indirectly responding to Kanwal and other channels Goswami said, “My experience has been that leadership is built by doing the news, not by negative marketing campaigns. Each time someone mocks or apes us, our viewership grows. There is a big lesson in this fact. Besides, the massive public response to our LalitGate expose matches the growing number of our viewers. Four smaller channels don’t match up to Times Now. I think it is time for the smaller channels to realise that aping the leader, or spending a lot of money mocking the leader is futile.” 

      

    Now it remains to be seen if this jingoism continues and how it affects viewers and if ever any other channel succeeds to grab the pole position. Overall, not only is the news industry providing news, it is also making headlines.

  • NDTV inks deals with multiple potential investors for e-commerce ventures

    NDTV inks deals with multiple potential investors for e-commerce ventures

    MUMBAI: The Prannoy Roy led New Delhi Television Ltd (NDTV) has signed preliminary deals with certain potential investors for its e-commerce ventures in the fields of food, auto, and gadgets.

     

    In the auto sector, portals like CarDekho.com, CarWale.com, CabKhabri.com and Gaadi.com amongst others operate in the Indian market. In the food sector too, portals for pre-cooked and uncooked food like travelkhana.com,merafoodchoice.com, Getlunchin.com and biryani360.com have mushroomed recently. On the other hand, portals specifically selling gadgets are far and few.

     

    An established player in the news content business, NDTV has ample online content around these segments in NDTV Gadgets (gadgets.ndtv.com), NDTV Food (food.ndtv.com) and NDTV Auto (auto.ndtv.com). NDTV’s e-commerce ventures in these specific areas will only stand to benefit from the backing it will receive from the network.

     

    While the company has signed term sheets with potential investors in the food, auto and gadgets sectors, along with its subsidiary company NDTV Convergence, it did not divulge names of the companies that the deals have been signed with.

     

    It may be recalled that in March this year, NDTV’s board had given in principle approval for setting up of online ventures including digital transactions.

     

    In a filing on the Bombay Stock Exchange, NDTV said, “The term sheets are non-binding and are subject to the parties agreeing upon and executing the definitive agreements, which will include detailed terms and conditions in relation to the proposed transactions.”

     

    The company said that the proposed transactions would be subject to various conditions precedent to be specified in the definitive agreements, including due diligence, receipt of requisite corporate authorizations, approvals and regulatory approvals.

     

    On the e-commerce front, NDTV through its subsidiary NDTV Ethnic Retail already operates Indianroots, which sells ethnic wear from various Indian designers. The venture recently also raised $5 million in funding from the Mumbai-based KJS Group.

  • Canada’s ATN bags telecast rights for India – Bangladesh cricket series

    Canada’s ATN bags telecast rights for India – Bangladesh cricket series

    MUMBAI: Canada’s South Asian broadcaster Asian Television Network International Limited (ATN) has acquired the exclusive broadcast rights for India vs Bangladesh Bilateral Cricket series, which is being held in Bangladesh.

     

    India’s tour of Bangladesh, which starts today (10 June, 2015) features one Test match and three One Day Internationals (ODI). The last Test between both countries was played in 2010.

     

    The series will air live on CBN & ATN Cricket Plus.

     

    ATN serves Canada’s diverse cultural communities with 54 specialty television channels. ATN has programming alliances with broadcasters like Doordarshan, Star Network, Sony Entertainment Television, Viacom, Times Television Network, B4U Network, NDTV and Disney amongst others.

  • NDTV to challenge SEBI order for late tax disclosure of Rs 450 crore

    NDTV to challenge SEBI order for late tax disclosure of Rs 450 crore

    BENGALURU:  New Delhi Television Limited (NDTV) has informed the bourses today that it would proceed as advised in law against the penalty of Rs 25 lakh imposed upon it by Prasad Jagdale, the Adjudicating Officer at the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), under Sections 23A and 23E of the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956, for its failure in timely disclosure as per clause 36 of the Listing Agreement,  of a demand of Rs 450 crores by the income tax department in March 2014. The company contends that the relevant non-disclosure does not materially impact its present or future operations or profit or financials.

     

    The Company approached the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) challenging the demand raised by the Assessing Officer. The Income Tax department , vide its orders dated March 26, 2014 and April 21, 2014, had granted an interim stay on payment of a sum of Rs. 5 crores, which is approximately 1.2 percent of the alleged tax demand. The challenge of the said claim made by NDTV is pending final determination before the ITAT and is currently sub-judice.

     

    Click here to read the SEBI order and NDTV letter.

  • NDTV’s e-commerce venture Indianroots.com raises Rs 32 crores

    NDTV’s e-commerce venture Indianroots.com raises Rs 32 crores

    MUMBAI: NDTV’s e-commerce venture IndianRoots.com has received fresh funding of approximately Rs 32 crore ($5 million) from Jaipur-based KJS Group, which in turn values the firm at Rs 545 crore ($85 million).

     

    The company, which falls under NDTV Ethnic, will use the funds to scale up the portal’s logistics and delivery mechanisms, and expand its marketing activity with the aim to be the market leader in Indian fashion in the year ahead.

     

    Launched in mid-2013, Indianroots.com showcases more than 100 designers and over 700 brands on its curated online marketplace. It has a worldwide customer base, with India and USA being the largest markets.

     

    “With the fresh investment in the business and the complete backing of the NDTV Group, IndianRoots will be able to push harder in achieving its plans for the year. We look forward to our partnership with the KJS Group in strengthening the IndianRoots venture,” said NDTV co-chairperson Prannoy Roy.

     

    NDTV Ethnic achieved gross merchandise value (GMV) of Rs 61 crore in the year ending 31 March, 2015, which was a twelvefold jump over the previous year.

     

    Speaking about the company’s investment, KJS Group chairman Kamaljeet Singh Ahluwalia and director Karanpal Singh said, “Given our interest in the e-commerce sector, partnering with a respected and credible organisation such as NDTV was the obvious choice for us. Given the clear positioning of IndianRoots and its achievements in the Indian fashion domain, we are confident that the business has a great growth story ahead.”

  • “In Prannoy’s legacy lives a hope:” Uday Shankar

    “In Prannoy’s legacy lives a hope:” Uday Shankar

    MUMBAI: NDTV executive co-chairman Dr Prannoy Roy was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the recently held Red Ink Awards 2015.

     

    Star India CEO Uday Shankar presented the award to Roy and thanked him for giving the country and the media community “not just a legacy, but a whole category of intellect, industry, business and communication’ through ‘professional television journalism.”

     

    Shankar said, “Let me tell you a story. This is from when people like us had just gone to college and television had just come in. It was a device for occasional viewing. And suddenly one night, when I was looking for something interesting to do — something a little more interesting than watch Krishi Darshan on TV – there popped a show, which was talking about what was happening in the US, UK and China, and there was a young man with a beard who was presenting the show. That show was called The World This Week, and that was my first interaction with what TV was meant to be.”

     

    Talking more about Roy and the show, Shankar added, “Here we were, fed on a diet of what came out of Mandi House, and suddenly, we saw this show, which was about information, production, technology, graphics, and credibility of presentation. That was the day I decided that television was a viable and exciting career option. And when I say this here tonight, I don’t think I’m the only one who feels so.” 

     

    Shankar, during his opening remarks, said that a large number of people who came to television were drawn by the personality, charisma and opportunity or potential to contribute because of what they saw through the eyes of Prannoy Roy. 

     

    “There are a very few people who can retire — at some stage I hope he will — but there are very few people who can retire with the satisfaction that they created not just a legacy, but a whole category of intellect, an industry, business and communication,” he added.

     

    Describing the work done by Roy, Shankar said, “This country had only Doordarshan and nothing else… this country had no reference to what modern, professional television communication could be… and in came Prannoy with his vision, content, production and everything, and set these standards and thereby saved us almost two-to-two-and-a-half decades of the growth curve, the learning curve that all of us would have necessarily had to go through in order to get to a level of professional television journalism and communication.” 

     

    Roy became the reference point for Shankar, when he came to try his hand at TV. “We had The World This Week, NDTV, Prannoy Roy and his brand of journalism. And the sheen of that brand of journalism has never been dull. His legacy lives on, and in that legacy lives on a hope,” he concluded.

  • NDTV reports operating profit in Q4-15, FY-15

    NDTV reports operating profit in Q4-15, FY-15

    BENGALURU: New Delhi Television Limited (NDTV) reported 31.8 per cent y-o-y growth in consolidated Total Income from Operations (TIO, revenue) to Rs 163.55 crore in Q4-2015 from Rs 124.09 crore in Q4-2014 and 9.1 per cent more than the Rs 149.93 crore in Q3-2015. TIO for FY-2015 at Rs 571.28 crore was 24.3 per cent more than the Rs 459.46 crore in FY-2014.

     

    Note: 100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10 million = 1 crore

     

    The company reported consolidated loss after deferred tax (Rs 17.99 crore) and provision for diminution in the value of a quoted investment amounting to (Rs 7.81 core) of Rs 17.21 crore in Q4-2015. The Rs 7.81 crore is a non cash item-impairment of investment in Jaiprakash Power, as is the write down of deferred tax assets.

     

    For Q4-2014, NDTV had reported a consolidated loss of Rs 31.39 crore and a profit after tax of Rs 1.56 crore in the immediate trailing quarter. 

     

    NDTV consolidated profit in Q4-2015 (before tax and exceptional items) was Rs 10.48 crore as compared to a loss of Rs 35.02 crore same quarter last year and a profit of Rs 2.34 crore in Q3-2015. 

     

    Loss in FY-2015 almost halved (reduced by 45.8 per cent) at Rs 44.03 crore as compared to the Rs 81.18 crore in FY-2014. NDTV (other than e-commerce) reported an EBIDTA of Rs 64 crore in FY-2015, as compared to an EBIDTA loss of Rs 6 crores last year. NDTV’s digital arm NDTV Convergence reported revenue of Rs 107 crore in FY-2015 at a 47 per cent growth as compared to FY-2014.

     

    NDTV executive director and CEO Vikram Chandra said, “Overall it’s been a good year in all three areas of business. The TV and related areas saw a sharp turnaround, recording an EBIDTA improvement of about Rs 60 crore. The digital content business saw record revenue crossing the Rs 100 crore mark, together with strong profitability. And though the ecommerce business reported losses, as most of them do, there was an exponential increase in revenue- crossing Rs 60 crore in GMV.” 

     

    Segment results

     

    Two major segments add to NDTV’s numbers: Media and related operations segment and Retail/E-commerce segment.

     

    Media and related operations segment

     

    NDTV’s Media and related operations (Media) segment revenue in Q4-2015 was up 38.3 per cent to Rs 157.09 crore from the Rs 113.61 crore in Q4-2014 and 8.5 per cent more than the Rs 144.74 crore in Q3-2015. This segment reported an operating profit of Rs 25.77 crore as compared to an operating loss of Rs 23.31 crore in Q4-2014 and almost double (up 92.2 per cent) the Rs 13.41 crore in Q3-2015.

     

    For FY-2015, the Media segment reported 19.8 per cent growth in revenue to Rs 554.63 crore as compared to the Rs 462.79 crore in FY-2014. The segment reported an operating profit of Rs 31.92 crore as compared to an operating loss of Rs 39.43 crore in FY-2014.

     

    Retail/E-commerce segment

     

    This segment reported 94.3 per cent growth in revenue to Rs 6.8 crore as compared to the Rs 3.5 crore in Q3-2014 and 12.4 per cent more than the Rs 6.06 crore in Q3-2015. The operating loss from this segment increased to 9.99 crore as compared to a loss of Rs 6.25 crore in Q4-2014 and a loss of Rs 6.02 crore in the previous quarter.

     

    For FY-2015, NDTV’s Retail/E-commerce segment reported revenue of Rs 19.57 crore as compared to the Rs 5.49 crore in FY-2014. Operating loss from this segment increased to Rs 23.67 crore in the current year from Rs 16.33 crore in the previous year.

     

     

    The other results reported by NDTV for Q4-2015 and FY-2015 are as follows: 

     

    For Q4-2014, the company has pared major expenses, except production expense; and operating and administrative expenses.

     

    Production expense in Q4-2015 at Rs 33.32 crore was 4.6 per cent more than the Rs 31.87 crore in Q4-2014 and 16.4 per cent more than the Rs 28.63 crore in Q3-2015. Production expense in FY-2015 at Rs 120.25 crore was 18.3 per cent more than the Rs 101.61 crore in FY-2014.

     

    The company’s marketing and distribution and promotional (marketing) expense in Q4-2015 at Rs 24.93 crore was 8.8 per cent less than the Rs 27.34 crore in Q4-2014 and 19.4 per cent lower than the Rs 30.91 crore in the previous quarter. For FY-2015, marketing expense at Rs 106.57 crore was 5.6 per cent more than the Rs 100.94 crore in FY-2014.

     

    Employee cost in Q4-2015 at Rs 44.57 crore was 6.7 per cent more than the Rs 41.79 crore in Q4-2014 and 4.4 per cent lower than the Rs 46.64 crore in Q3-2015. For FY-2015, employee cost at Rs 183.55 crore was 4.1 per cent more than the Rs 176.26 crore in FY-2014.

     

    Operating and administrative (Admin) expenses in Q4-2015 at Rs 32.25 crore was 35.4 per cent lower than the Rs 49.96 crore in Q4-2014 and was 18 per cent more than the Rs 27.33 crore in Q3-2015. For FY-2015, Admin expense at Rs 121.98 crore was 14.4 per cent lower than the Rs 142.48 crore in FY-2014.

     

    It may be noted that NDTV’s subsidiaries had paid managerial remuneration for the years 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14, which was in excess of the specified limits / existing Central Government approvals. Following the outcome of representations made to Central Government, the subsidiaries have reversed excess remuneration paid till 30 September, 2014 amounting to Rs 4.71 crore in the previous quarter ended 31 December, 2014 and the amount has been credited in Employee Costs (Rs 1.10 crore) / Operating & Administrative Expenses (Rs 3.61 crore) with consequential impact on the net profit for the quarter.

  • Prannoy Roy to receive RedInk Lifetime Achievement Award

    Prannoy Roy to receive RedInk Lifetime Achievement Award

    MUMBAI: NDTV Group executive co chairman Dr Prannoy Roy has been awarded the 2015 RedInk Award for Lifetime Achievement for Excellence in Journalism for his consistent and pioneering contribution to news television in India. Dr Roy will be honoured for his service to journalism at a glittering ceremony on Thursday, 30 April in Mumbai at the Jamshed Bhaba Auditorium, NCPA.

     

    Dr Roy along with his wife and journalist Radhika Roy in 1988, were the first to set up a television news production company called New Delhi Television, now called NDTV. In later years, Dr Roy made a mark for his incisive and pioneering coverage of election news and changed the way people consumed TV news with his ground-breaking programmes such as ‘The News Tonight’ and ‘The World This Week’. After years of producing the news for Star News, Dr Roy launched his own broadcasting network with NDTV 24X7, NDTV India and other channels in 2003. NDTV, one of the largest news networks in the country today, has set up benchmarks for good, ethical and no-frills news coverage.

     

    The RedInk Award for ‘Journalist of the Year’, instituted for the first time, has gone to Sreenivasan Jain of NDTV for his consistent investigative work epitomized in his series ‘Truth versus Hype’ and other programmes. Times Now editor in chief Arnab Goswami was selected as the ‘Impact Editor’ of the Year for his ability to capture eyeballs and expand audience reach with his ‘News Hour’ show. Scroll.in will be awarded the ‘News Start-up of the Year’ for scaling up its influence rapidly as an alternative source of news and features.

     

    Judging for the RedInk Awards, which includes as many as 10 categories have just been completed, and as many as 24 journalists who have produced outstanding and impactful stories in calendar 2014 will also receive awards along with Dr Prannoy Roy, Sreenivasan Jain, Arnab Goswami and Scoll.in on 30 April at the NCPA.

     

    Judging process proved to be a herculean task with over 800 entries in the print/online category and nearly 250 stories from television journalists. Each of the categories – politics, crime, environment, sports, human rights, etc – had a dedicated jury of senior persons with domain knowledge assigned to judge the entries. A special curator was also assigned to sift the large number of entries in each section and guide the judges.  

  • Net Neutrality: TRAI receives a million mails, Indians awaits judgment day

    Net Neutrality: TRAI receives a million mails, Indians awaits judgment day

    MUMBAI: One of the largest mass movements online in India came to an end as we crossed the 24 April, 2015 deadline day to send online responses to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).

     

    The Net Neutrality debate began after Indian telecom operators lobbied to TRAI to change certain rules as per their convenience, which would have a direct impact on the consumer’s pocket. TRAI, in response to the telecos on 27 March, released a 118-page long consultation bulletin, which concluded by asking 20 questions. The last date to respond to that bulletin electronically was 24 April, 2015 while all the counter responses could be sent till 8 May, 2015.

     

    From 27 March to 24 April there have been certain incidents, which managed to ruffle quite a few big feathers. Many came on record to make a statement.

     

    Some of the major developments throughout the net neutrality debate tenure are as follows:

     

    All India Bakchod (AIB) Video

     

    AIB’s video conveyed the message – “Internet is not a luxury but a utility” and the video ended with a link (www.netneutrality.in), which directed people to the net neutrality home page where all of TRAI’s 20 questions were answered in detail. One could send an email with the pre-written answers by a single click or could edit the replies and send it as well. The video saw the Internet savvy youth getting into action and a complex concept like net neutrality spread through word of mouth as thousands of mails were sent to the Authority.

     

    Net Neutrality Website

     

    www.netneutrality.in: After AIB’s video, thousands of people came to the website and mailed TRAI with the pre-written responses. The website also posted all the developments that were happening around the topic, tweets of dignitaries and most importantly the number of mails that were sent. The website also shared their perception which read, “The Internet’s success in fostering innovation, access to knowledge and freedom of speech is in large part due to the principle of net neutrality — the idea that Internet service providers give their customers equal access to all lawful websites and services on the Internet, without giving priority to any website over another.”

     

    Internet.Org Backout

     

    Internet.org is a Facebook-led initiative, which aims to bring five billion people online in partnership with tech giants like Samsung and Qualcomm. In India, Facebook partnered with Reliance Communications to provide free Internet access to 33 websites as part of its Internet.org initiative, which came under controversy and raised quite a few eyebrows with free Internet activists saying that it violated the idea of net neutrality. Major participants like Flipkart, Cleartrip, NDTV and Times Network, which had earlier joined this initiative, opted out later as the Net Neutrality debate gathered momentum in India.

     

    NDTV co-founder Prannoy Roy tweeted, “NDTV is committed to Net Neutrality and is therefore exiting, and will not be part of Facebook’s Internet.org initiative.”

     

    Mark Zukerberg’s letter

     

    Facebook founder Mark Zukerberg wrote a note justifying the Internet.org initiative. It read, “In many countries, there are big social and economic obstacles to connectivity. The Internet isn’t affordable to everyone, and in many places awareness of its value remains low. Women and the poor are most likely to be excluded and further disempowered by lack of connectivity. This is why we created Internet.org, our effort to connect the whole world. By partnering with mobile operators and governments in different countries, Internet.org offers free access in local languages to basic Internet services in areas like jobs, health, education and messaging. Internet.org lowers the cost of accessing the Internet and raises the awareness of the Internet’s value. It helps include everyone in the world’s opportunities.”

     

    He further added, “We fully support Net neutrality. We want to keep the Internet open. Net neutrality ensures network operators don’t discriminate by limiting access to services you want to use. It’s an essential part of the open Internet, and we are fully committed to it. But Net neutrality is not in conflict with working to get more people connected. These two principles — Net neutrality and universal connectivity — can and must coexist.”

     

    TRAI chairman Rahul Khullar’s statement

     

    “There are passionate voices on both sides of the debate. And if that was not enough, there’s a corporate war going on between a media house and a telecom operator, which is confounding already difficult matters,” Khullar told The Indian Express. “They have a moral anchor… Equally, there are others on the opposite side. But there are many others in between that one should not ignore despite the passionate nature of the debate between the two extremes. We need a democratic debate on the issue, not shrill voices,” he added

     

    Sabka Internet Campaign

     

    The battle for net neutrality in India saw an interesting twist after the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) launched a campaign called Sabka Internet. The Sabka Internet initiative was launched to counter the net neutrality campaign. The campaign communicated the positives of the zero Internet venture, where one gets whatever they pay for.

     

    Million Mail Mission

     

    In a span of 12 days, a million emails were sent and the ‘million mails’ mission of Netneutrality.in was accomplished before the due date. That sums up the entire net neutrality voyage.

     

     

  • “Women must develop a thick skin in order to survive in the media:” Barkha Dutt

    “Women must develop a thick skin in order to survive in the media:” Barkha Dutt

    MUMBAI: Veteran journalist Barkha Dutt, who recently stepped down from her post as NDTV group editor to start her own business venture, said that in order to survive in the media business, women should develop a thick skin.

     

    Speaking at the launch of FICCI Women in Media Forum, Dutt specifically addressed women journalists and said, “There are two key things that you should keep in mind. One is that you have to perform better than the men and secondly, be prepared to be scrutinised or even being deconstructed in the media room. Develop a thick skin in order to survive.”

     

    Dutt spoke on the role of women in the Indian news room space and shared some key insights from her own experience. She began her keynote about the role and depiction of women 20 years ago in the industry. “I want to talk about my mother’s generation working in the media. Today, we are not the norms but the exception. When my mother was 19 years old and walked into Hindustan Times asking for a job, the then editor told her that there was no space for her in the media room. After persisting, she was told that she would get to cover a flower display show in Delhi. She later went on to head the news bureau,” Dutt said.

     

    Sharing an interesting anecdote, Dutt, who is synonymous for her coverage of the Kargil War, said that it was her mother who should be given due credit. “During India’s war with Pakistan in 1965, my mother took a few days off and went to cover the war at the war front in Punjab. She did this after she was not allowed to cover the war by the newspaper. In Punjab, my mother sent dispatches back to the news paper desk, which got featured prominently,” Dutt shared.

     

    Moving on to her own experience, Dutt said that in 1999, the army was uncomfortable with a woman at the war front. “They were not comfortable protecting a woman. I told them that if soldiers were going to go behind a rock and use it as a loo, so will I. Today, we women journalists want to be judged for our work as journalists,” she stated.

     

    Dutt also mentioned that while today there were many women journalists, she could not even name 10 women editors or CEOs in the news room space. She shared insights of a UN survey, which analysed profitable film industries world over. “One third of the screen space or less was given to women in speaking roles in Bollywood. However, India did well in sexualising women.”

     

    She highlighted how disparity in wages existed in Bollywood. “Why didn’t Kangana Ranaut get the same profits that her male contemporaries do even after performing well with a film like Queen? Why is Anoushka Sharma questioned if she has got a lip-job done, while the male actors are not asked if they have resorted to botox?” the popular TV anchor reasoned.

     

    In conclusion Dutt said, “I sit here as a 43 year old and with 20 years of journalism experience and I look at it in dismay. There is a certain kind of glamorising of journalism that is taking place in the studio today. How is it that the three Khans of Bollywood are going strong enough at 50 years but not a single actress over 40?” she implored.