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Tag: Network18

  • Our shows will empower people to drive electoral discourse: Network18’s Priyanka Kaul

    Our shows will empower people to drive electoral discourse: Network18’s Priyanka Kaul

    MUMBAI: The news genre has entered its peak time – election season. All news channels including Hindi, English and regional have started their election-based programming from the exit polls that took place on 7 December 2018. Election coverage is like the bread and butter for news channels since this is where they get to score more loyal viewers.

    If we look at the BARC rating of week 48, channels of Network18 are present in each of the six categories of news. The network’s business news channels CNBC TV18 and CNBC Awaaz led the chart in their respective markets. Whereas, the Hindi news channel, News18 India, is present in all three genres in the top 3 channels.

    Indiantelevision.com caught up with Network18 president marketing and special projects Priyanka Kaul to talk about the network’s plan for the upcoming election and the content and marketing strategy.

    Excerpts:

    In the run-up to the elections, how do you see the growth of news channels?

    Elections clearly drive a strong spike in viewership of news channels. In a democratic polity such as ours people at large retain a key interest in politics. As elections have become shriller over the years, people have developed a keen interest in tracking the outcome of electoral battles. Given this, there is an uptick in viewership for election-related programming that peaks on counting day which clearly becomes a tent pole.

    How do you position your brand ahead of election year?

    As a network, we have always prided ourselves in our coverage of elections. We have developed a reputation over the years of being the most accurate and the first to call elections. Given our national and regional reach and hence our ability to not only track key stories across the length and breadth of the country but also to evaluate the likely impact of the same. In terms of our brand strategy we have always believed that there is no real alternative to Network18 when it comes to elections and hence we center much of our promotion on the thought of Elections=Network18.

    Could you give us an overview of news genre (breakup of Hindi, English and regional channels) – share of viewership by category?

    News is the third most watched category on television, after GECs and movies with a share of 7.7 per cent with regional leading the pack with over 60 per cent viewership followed by Hindi & English news at 37 per cent and less than 1 per cent respectively. We are India’s largest news network with a vast bouquet of national and regional channels. News18 India leads the Hindi news genre during key prime time band (7-11pm in urban India) and CNBC-TV18 leads the English business news genre with an overall viewership of 77 per cent approximately. CNBC Awaaz leads the Hindi business news genre with an overall viewership share of over 70 per cent while we see a 90 per cent share during the Budget Speech.

    How has the channel performed in terms of viewership and revenue?

    News18 Network has 10.7 per cent share amongst all news channels. News18 India ranks number 2 overall and sees 15.4 per cent market share during primetime and 11.6 per cent market share respectively. CNN News18 ranks number 3 in the genre with 13.2 per cent market share. CNBC-TV18 & Awaaz rank number 1 in the genre with 70.6 per cent and 59.1 per cent market share during market hours respectively.

    What is your content and marketing strategy going forward?

    Our content and marketing strategy going forward will be strongly centred on the idea of keeping our viewers, the voters at the centre of all our plans. Catering to their needs and reinventing shows to keep them interested along with content and programming fresh is the key to our plans and strategy. As previously mentioned, we are looking at integrating our viewers with the most popular shows on News18 India. This approach is something that we shall remain strongly committed to. Our shows/campaign will try and ensure that viewers not only become a part of electoral discourse but are actually empowered to drive the same. Through different formats – vox pops, audience-based shows, surveys – we will ensure that we go beyond the same talking heads and studios that have become par for the course.

    Any new show launches in the pipeline? Which time slot and the show are getting the highest viewership? 

    There are of course a slew of new show launches and we constantly also ramp-up existing shows in the pipeline. For instance, 2 of the most popular shows on News18 India – Lapete Mien Netaji and BhaiyajiKahin – are travelling to Rajasthan and MP. We are in fact even running a marketing campaign to invite local viewers to our shows as they travel through these regions. We are of course looking at launching several new shows in the lead up to the general elections including shows that will fully leverage the strength of the entire network – 20 channels across general news, business news and regional news. We will also be looking at launching shows that focus key societal segments including the youth and women voters. Different formats including campaign trails, voxpop based shows, political satires etc. are also being planned.

    Which category of brands shows more interest in the Hindi news space?

    Hindi news, especially during election season, gives brands both reach as well as stature. Hence we see multiple categories get active from FMCG to e-commerce. High viewership, coupled with a keen interest in the segment, attracts all brands.

    What is the total reach of the news channels overall? Which region is contributing to the highest viewership in Hindi, English and regional genre?

    News18 Network channels reached 429 million viewers (in Oct’18) higher than any other news network. South is the highest contributing region for the English news genre as well as CNN News18 – contributes 37 per cent to the genre and 47 per cent to CNN News18.UP/Uttarakhand is the highest contributing region for the Hindi news genre as well as News18 India – contributes 18 per cent to the genre and 17 per cent to News18 India.

    Amongst regional news Malayalam news sees 98 per cent market share and Tamil/Telugu news sees 97 per cent each, followed by Kannada news at 91 per cent and Oriya (86 per cent), Bangla (75 per cent), Marathi (48 per cent). Regional news channels have the highest share among all news channels in the state.

    How are you planning to cover the upcoming four assembly elections by the year end?

    Our network channels like News18 Rajasthan, MP & Chhattisgarh are already doing extensive coverage around assembly elections apart from our national channels which is CNN-News18 and News18 India doing special shows around these elections. As we close in on the counting day the quantum of programming will keep increasing with shows such as the Poll of Polls and more. The channels will continue to track developments given the importance of these elections. We will also be leveraging our social media channels along with our digital asset www.news18.com to ensure that relevant and accurate information flows seamlessly to our viewers across all touch points.

  • Firstpost elevates Munaf Merchant to National Head – Sales, Firstpost News Cluster

    Firstpost elevates Munaf Merchant to National Head – Sales, Firstpost News Cluster

    National, 4 December 2018: Firstpost, India’s leading digital news platform has announced the elevation of Munaf Merchant to National Head – Sales, Firstpost News Cluster at Network18 Digital. Munaf will be responsible for developing effective marketing strategies and leading the team towards achieving a high-performance sales environment for Firstpost and Tech2. 
    Having been associated with Firstpost for over five years now, Munaf possesses an experience of close to ten years in marketing and sales. He has meticulously climbed the ranks with his dedication and commitment to work. His pro-activeness, exemplary decision-making prowess and absolute dedication, ensures that Firstpost always achieves its revenue targets. Munaf’s expertise has garnered client appreciation and has resulted in renewal of business deals repeatedly. In addition to this, he has a proven track record in building and growing properties from scratch, such as Firstpost’s 9 Months – the ground-breaking show on parenting and childcare which is now in its third season. 

    Sharing his views on the announcement, Azim Lalani, Business Head, English General News cluster, Network18 Digital said, “Firstpost has consistently led the way in offering innovative and path-breaking content for its readers across segments like politics, sports, business, technology and entertainment. Having grown significantly since its inception, we are creating a stronger digital presence in the sphere of original content with shows like 9 Months, WhatTheApp and Social Media Star. Munaf has brought to the table excellent marketing capabilities in the last few years and we are sure that he will apply the same level of perseverance and determination in his new responsibility of undertaking the national portfolio in sales for Firstpost and Tech2.” 

    Prior to joining Firstpost, Munaf worked with India Today in Marketing & Sales where he was responsible for generating revenues for India Today megabrand magazines, which included India Today English, India Today Hindi and India Today Tamil among others. 

    Commenting on being elevated Munaf said, “I am delighted to be entrusted with the new position. It is the perfect platform to further channelize the abilities and creativity of the team and ensure delivering excellent offerings to all our readers and clients. With the digital sphere growing rapidly, we plan to strategically strive and lead the online news space with effective partnerships that benefit all our stakeholders, including our consumers, at large.”

  • Network18 Digital launches news service on WhatsApp in 9 Indic languages

    Network18 Digital launches news service on WhatsApp in 9 Indic languages

    MUMBAI: Network18 Digital has launched Indic language news service on WhatsApp to reach the masses ahead of the world’s largest democratic elections. This service will be available to users across CNBC-TV18, moneycontrol, CricketNext, Firstpost English, Firstpost Hindi, Tech2, in.com, News18 English, News18 Hindi, News18 Tamil, News18 Telugu, News18 Malayalam, and News18 Kannada. The digital arm of Network18 has over 100 million monthly active visitors.

    Network18 digital CEO Manish Maheshwari said, “We strive to delight our audiences by delivering credible news, insightful opinions and engaging conversations through innovative product experience resulting in strong loyalty and high stickiness. In an era of fake news, this is one more arrow in our quiver to ensure our audiences are catered to at their convenience with credible and relevant news of their choice. We wanted to harness the Whatsapp platform which currently has 200+ million monthly active users in India."

    The beginning of this initiative was during moneycontrol’s coverage of the Union Budget session in Parliament. On January 31st, 2018, moneycontrol launched its first service, offering audiences a chance to get the latest news and views on the Budget directly from moneycontrol onto WhatsApp. This initial pilot was a huge success, proving to be popular with large numbers of audiences as well as showcasing record highs in engagement by these subscribed users on the platform. This germinated into a network-level offering, with capabilities explored for more powerful features such as Indic languages support on the platform.

    Network18 digital CPO Avinash Mudaliar said, “This offering is another attempt to enhance ease of use, access, and engagement when it comes to reaching our readers at their point of convenience and consumption. We want to be where the users spend their most time. Our research shows that with more accessible data, even our regional content readers are consuming content on Whatsapp. Connecting through Whatsapp is thus the logical choice of distribution.  We will experiment with different content formats, closely analyse the responses from users and see what works best with our Whatsapp subscribers”.

    Network18’s Whatsapp channels are the trusted news sources on the Whatsapp platform. Network18 has been strengthening its regional offerings with user-friendly features e.g. progressive web apps (PWAs) and has now been the pioneer in launching regional news through Whatsapp for the same audience. It is continuing to build other innovative features on Whatsapp which will roll out in the coming months.

    Users can subscribe to their publisher of choice, either from their desktop or mobile websites. In the case of News18 Indian languages properties, users can receive content in the language of their choice across 9 Indian languages in addition to English and Hindi. 

  • Network18 hands Avinash Kaul, Rahul Kansal additional portfolios

    Network18 hands Avinash Kaul, Rahul Kansal additional portfolios

    MUMBAI: Close on the heel of a senior executive from Network18 group announcing his departure and internal synergies being brought about in the company for better cohesion and functioning, the organisation has handed some other top execs newer responsibilities.

    Reliance Industries Ltd-controlled Network18 COO Avinash Kaul  has been handed the sales responsibilities for the group with all national sales heads reporting into him. Kaul will continue to be the MD of A+E at TV18, the television arm of Network18 that controls the largest number of TV news channels in India.

    Brand wiz Rahul Kansal , who cut his teeth at the Times of India group and joined Network18 earlier this year as group brand advisor, has been given interim charge of the overall marketing for network. Day-to-day activities will be taken care of by respective TV channels.

    Two recent departures from the group and a joint venture included that of Forbes India CEO and Network 18 President (Revenue) Joy Chakraborthy  and Viacom18 COO Raj Nayak . Nayak will stay on till early 2019 with the company that’s a joint venture with American media giant Viacom.  

    Apart from Kaul and Kansal getting additional responsibilities, Network18 president of special projects Priyanka Kaul will take over the charge of broadcast Focus and branded content and is shortly expected to revamp the Focus division.

    The two Kauls and Kansal will continue to report to Network18 and TV18 MD Rahul Joshi.

    Network18 Media and Investments Ltd is a media and entertainment company with interests in television, internet, filmed entertainment, digital business, magazines, mobile content and allied businesses. The company manages various digital businesses, including portals such as moneycontrol.com, ibnlive.com, burrp.com, in.com and firstpost.com.

    It also operates digital commerce properties like HomeShop18 and bookmyshow.com. In addition, Network18 is a leading player in the publishing space having under its wing titles such as Forbes India, Overdrive, Better Interiors and Better Photography.

    Through its subsidiary TV18 Broadcast Limited, the group operates news channels such as CNBC-TV18, CNBC Awaaz, CNBC Bajar, CNBC-TV18 Prime HD, CNN-News18, IBN7, ETV channels and News18 Lokmat (a Marathi regional news channel in partnership with the Lokmat group).

    TV18 also operates a joint venture with Viacom, called Viacom18, which houses a portfolio of popular entertainment channels like Colors, Colors HD, Colors Infinity, Rishtey, MTV India, MTV Indies, Comedy Central, Vh1, Nick, Sonic, Nick Jr, Teen Nick and Viacom18 Motion Pictures, the group's filmed entertainment business. TV18 operates a factual entertainment channel History TV18 and FYI TV18 through a joint venture with A+E Networks.

  • Network18 Digital elevates Ranadeep Chakravarty as marketing head

    Network18 Digital elevates Ranadeep Chakravarty as marketing head

    MUMBAI: Network18 Digital, the digital arm of Network18, announced the elevation of Ranadeep Chakravarty to marketing head of Firstpost, News18 and in.com. In his new role, he will lead all marketing, communications and strategic partnerships for Firstpost, News18 (English) and in.com. He will also oversee the public relations and trade communication activities for the three brands.

    Chakravarty brings with him 15 years of experience in both digital and mainline advertising and marketing. With a keen eye for design and vast knowledge in branding, he has significantly contributed in designing a number of commendable digital products, campaigns and brand identities for Network18.

    Prior to joining Network18, he was at the forefront in leading creative and brand strategy duties at various MNCs and Indian agencies, namely Bates Worldwide, Rediffusion, Madison, Rediff.com and LK Saatchi & Saatchi to name a few.

    Speaking about his new role, Chakravarty said, “I am excited to undertake the new responsibilities with Network18. It has been a great journey till now. Our efforts have got Firstpost in the top five leading Indian media digital publications. In my new role, the focus will be to continue to engage a diverse set of audience with strong, relevant and original content. I look forward to leading the team and enhancing the brand resonance through innovative ideas, brand partnerships and unique properties across segments.” 

    The trio of News18.com, Firstpost and in.com continue to stay ahead of the curve by being the go-to destination of online news. Having reached out to 70 million unique visitors, Firstpost and News18 are known to be India’s most influential digital news destinations in English. Additionally, now with the recently re-launched in.com, all three news sites reach out to larger masses that follow the diverse segments of politics, business, sports and entertainment.

    Commenting on the announcement, Network18 digital business head English general news cluster Azim Lalani said, “Network18 is strengthening its foothold in the digital space at a rapid pace. This is visible by the fact that it has acquired a very high number of unique visitors in a short period of time. By bringing the marketing activities of the three properties – Firstpost, News18.com and in.com – under one head, we plan to further align, strengthen and accelerate the growth of immensely popular news portals. Ranadeep has been instrumental in leading the marketing activities and effective brand collaborations at Firstpost. We are confident that his in-depth expertise and exceptional creativity will enable the websites to be recognized as the desired news destination that provides relevant, insightful and hard-hitting news.”

  • Network18 reports improved numbers for Q2 FY19

    Network18 reports improved numbers for Q2 FY19

    BENGALURU: Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani’s media arm, Network18, reported improved numbers for the quarter ended 30 September 2018 (Q2 2019, quarter under review) as compared to the corresponding year ago quarter Q2 2018). The company reported 9 per cent y-o-y growth in consolidated revenue for Q2 2019 at Rs 1,237 crore as compared to Rs 1,138 crore in Q2 2018. Network18 reported a lower loss of Rs 68 crore in the quarter under review as compared to Rs 71 crore in the corresponding year ago quarter. Consolidated operating EBITDA increased 59 per cent y-o-y to Rs 92 crore in Q 2019 from Rs 58 crore in Q2 2018.

    Network18’s numbers comprise numbers from its publically listed subsidiary TV18 Broadcast Ltd and from NW18 digital, print and others.

    TV18 Broadcast numbers

    TV18 consolidated revenue of Rs 1,118 crore in Q2 2019 was 11 per cent higher y-o-y than Rs 1,084 crore in Q 2018. TV18 consolidated operating EBITDA for Q2 2019 increased 42 per cent y-o-y to Rs 108 crore from Rs 76 crore in Q 2018

    Revenue growth in Q2 2019 was across all revenue streams. The company’s operating revenue from business and general news (TV18 standalone) increased 26 per cent y-o-y to Rs 200 crore from Rs 159 crore. The segment’s operating EBITDA increased 10 per cent y-o-y in Q2 2019 to Rs 31 crore from Rs 28 crore. Regional news ex-Lokmat including entertainment operating revenue during the quarter under review increased 36 per cent y-o-y to Rs 95 crore from Rs 70 crore. The segment reported a substantially lower loss of Rs 8 crore for Q2 2019 as compared to Rs 28 crore for Q2 2018.The entertainment segment (Viacom18 and Indiacast) saw a 6 per cent y-o-y increase in revenue to Rs 903 crore in Q2 2019 from Rs 855 crore. Operating profit of the entertainment segment increased 12 per cent y-o-y to Rs 85 core from Rs 76 core.

    NW18 digital, print and others numbers

    NW18 digital, print and others (NW18) revenue declined 28 per cent y-o-y to Rs 39 crore from Rs 54 crore. NW18 operating EBITDA was a lower loss of Rs 16 crore as compared to a loss of Rs 18 crore.

    Company speak

    Chairman of Network18, Adil Zainulbhai said: “Our regional properties across news and entertainment have shown significant improvements in viewership and monetisation, cementing our belief that vernacular content will be a key growth driver. We continue to see opportunities in the Indian media space; and aim to create segmented offerings to deepen our presence.”

    In the TV18 media release, Zainulbhai said, “TV18’s investments into regional have served to diversify our portfolio and reduce dependence on national markets. Our rising viewership in regional channels across both news and entertainment has been the primary driver this quarter. We shall continue to invest in the broadcasting space to capture growth opportunities.”

    Notes:

    Viacom18 and  Indiacast became subsidiaries of TV18 from 28 February 2018 and have been consolidated into TV18/Network18 financials from 1 March 2018. HomeShop18 has ceased to be a subsidiary of Network18 from 15 February 2018 as a result of its acquisition of ShopCJ through a share-swap.

  • HDFC Bank, Firstpost give unique twist to Raksha Bandhan

    HDFC Bank, Firstpost give unique twist to Raksha Bandhan

    MUMBAI: HDFC Bank has associated with digital newsroom Firstpost, to make this Rakshabandhan an agent of social change with its #RakshaMatlabRokNahi campaign.

    The ad campaign shares a unique take on the cherished Raksha Bandhan ritual. It signifies that the much loved and celebrated sibling festival is not only limited to protecting one’s sister but should also expand to protecting the dreams and aspirations of every woman.  

    Women’s emancipation is a continuous process of unlearning and rethinking the decisions we are traditionally used to making. To manifest our thoughts into action we just need that small but important nudge to make a difference. This was the key insight which leads to the concept.

    In the touching video created by Firstpost Studio, a brother informs his sister that his wife won’t be taking up an excellent career opportunity as it involves travel and wouldn’t be safe. To which the sister patiently explains that protection does not mean setting limits. The stirring message hits the audience when she asks her brother for her Rakhi gift – to protect not only his sister but the dreams and aspirations of every woman he meets.

    HDFC Bank CMO Ravi Santhanam says, “We have noticed women get more financially independent than they were and make decisions about their own money. That being said, there still exist social norms which keep some women from being decision makers. We wanted to address this in our video. The #RakshaMatlabRokNahi campaign creatively reinforces HDFC Bank’s core messaging encapsulated in our tag-line – ‘We Understand Your World.’ We are delighted to have found the right partners in Firstpost, who in turn delivered on our expectations for the campaign.”

    Network18 Digital business head for English general news cluster Azim Lalani adds, “We are glad to have associated with HDFC Bank to bring an offering that resonates with the audience and effectively drives the message of the brand. Our platform consistently strives to deliver progressive content that deeply connects with the audience, and the team has made a sincere effort to bring that forward with the #RakshaMatlabRokNahi campaign.”

  • Network18 strengthens digital arm with two top level appointments

    Network18 strengthens digital arm with two top level appointments

    MUMBAI: News18 Network’s digital arm, News18.com, has strengthened its top-level management by appointing Mitul Sangani and Amit Vichare to expand the horizons of its digital reach in Indic/regional languages. 

    Sangani has joined Network18 digital as business head- News18 langauges and Vichare has joined the network as national sales head for News18 languages. According to the numbers provided by the broadcaster, News18.com, recently crossed the milestone of over 100 million unique visitors in May 2018.

    Sangani was previously working with Dailyhunt, where he was responsible for setting up the overall business function. He can be credited to have led Dailyhunt to becoming one of the top revenue drivers in non-English space. He has done his post-graduation in commerce with a major in marketing. He will be directly reporting to Manish Maheshwari.

    Commenting on his appointment, Sangani said, “I am excited to join Network18. I believe that going forward the user growth in digital will be driven by non-English content. News18.com which is one of the top news platforms with presence across 15 Indian languages, is well positioned to ride the next wave of growth. I look forward to work with the team, to establish News18 as the most preferred source for news on digital medium in all 15 Indian languages.”

    Prior to Network18, Vichare was the head of sales at Bhaskar Digital. Amit has also worked with other successful brands such as Mid-Day, Red FM and Rediff. He holds a post-graduate degree in Marketing & Advertising from Rizvi Management Institute. He will report to Sangani.

    Commenting on the new appointments, Network18 digital CEO Manish Maheshwari said, “News18.com has grown from strength to strength with a record rise in readership, unique visitors and engagement. One of the strong pillars of this property is that it has reporting teams in almost every district of India. This unparalleled reach helps us in bringing news, as it happens, in 10 languages including English and Hindi. It is estimated that 75 per cent of the new internet users will be from rural India and 75 per cent of these will consume content in local languages. With the appointment of Mitul and Amit, we are gearing up to tap these upcoming opportunities in Indic languages.”

  • Network18 reports improved numbers for Q1

    Network18 reports improved numbers for Q1

    BENGALURU: Network18 Media & Investments Ltd (Network18) reported year over year (y-o-y) growth in consolidated operating revenue for the quarter ended 30 June 2018 (Q1 2019, quarter or period under review) as compared to the year ago quarter (Q1 2018). The company reported consolidated operating profit (EBITDA) of Rs 18 crore in Q1 2019 as compared to a loss of Rs 2 crore during the corresponding year ago quarter. Consolidated operating revenue grew 10 percent y-o-y during the quarter under review to Rs 1,124 crore from Rs 1,025 crore in Q1 2018 on a comparable basis.

    Network18 chairman Adil Zainulbhai said: “We have begun the new fiscal with improved viewership across our portfolio, which shall be the foundation for our growth plans. We continued investments in regional news and entertainment and in digital. We continue to see opportunities in the media space.”

    TV18 Broadcast Limited

    TV18 Broadcast Ltd (TV18) is the listed Network18 broadcast subsidiary and the largest contributor to its numbers. Its consolidated revenues increased 11.1 percent y-o-y in Q1 2019 to Rs 1,088 crore from Rs 979 crore. TV18 consolidated operating profit (EBITDA) almost tripled (2.79 times) y-o-y to Rs 39 crore in Q1 2019 as compared to Rs 14 crore.

    TV18’s growth in revenue was led by Viacom18 and Indiacast revenue for which climbed by Rs 73 crore (a little less than 10 percent) y-o-y during the quarter under review to Rs 832 crore from Rs 759 crore. The company’s business and general news had revenue growth of 14 per cent (Rs 20 crore) y-o-y in Q1 2019 at Rs 173 crore as compared to Rs 153 crore. Regional news (Ex Lokmat) and infotainment had revenue growth of 24 per cent (Rs 16 crore) during the quarter under review at Rs 83 crore as compared to Rs 67 crore in Q1 2018.

    In its investor update, Network18 says that TV18’s subscription revenue increased 10 percent y-o-y during the period under review to Rs 301 crore from Rs 273 crore in Q1 2018.

    Growth in operating profit (EBITDA) was led by business and general news with 25 per cent (Rs 7 crore) y-o-y growth at Rs 35 crore in Q1 2019 as compared to Rs 28 crore in Q1 2018. Viacom18 and Indiacast had 13 per cent y-o-y growth in operating profit at Rs 26 crore from Rs 23 crore in Q1 2018. Operating loss of regional news (Ex Lokmat) and infotainment declined to Rs 22 crore in Q1 2019 from operating loss of Rs 37 crore.

    The numbers mentioned above have been obtained from TV18’s Investor update. It may be noted that Viacom18 and Indiacast became subsidiaries of TV18 from 1 March 2018. Hence, reported financials of TV18 consolidate these entities only from that date. Other y-o-y numbers are not comparable.

    “Our television channels reach out to 700 million people across the country, making every 1 in 2 Indians our consumer. We have 53 domestic channels across news and entertainment, making us a formidable player. The improving advertising environment and our rising viewership are positives, as we continue investing into growing our offerings across genres,” said Zainulbhai in a TV18 investor update.

    Network18 Digital, Print and others

    Network18 Digital, Print and others revenue declined 22 per cent y-o-y in Q 2019 to Rs 36 crore from Rs 46 crore in  the year ago quarter. Operating loss (EBITDA) increased to Rs 21 crore from Rs 16 crore.

  • Sudhanshu Vats appointed MD Viacom18; Rahul Joshi is MD Network18 and TV18

    Sudhanshu Vats appointed MD Viacom18; Rahul Joshi is MD Network18 and TV18

    MUMBAI: It’s promotion time at the Reliance Industries-owned news firm TV18 Broadcast and Network18 Media and entertainment broadcasting major Viacom18. The boards of the three companies have upped their respective CEOs to managing director (MD). Sudhanshu Vats who was earlier group CEO, Viacom18 has now been designated as MD even as Rahul Joshi  has been given the same designation at both Network18 Media and TV18 Broadcast. Joshi’s position is for a term of three years with effect from 9 July 2018, while  Vats’s redesignation awaits the receipt of necessary regulatory approvals.

    Vats has been associated with Viacom18 from last six years, while Joshi has worked at Network18 Group since September 2015 and is CEO news and group editor in chief.

    Adil Zainulbhai, chairman of Network18 and TV18 said “Both the appointees have tremendous skill and experience and will continue to drive our news and entertainment businesses towards leadership, as we continue to invest in these areas.”

    Joshi has done his masters in management studies from Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS), Mumbai University. 

    Prior to joining the Network18 group, he worked for more than two decades with The Economic Times, where he rose through ranks to quickly become one of India’s youngest editors, and has also worked as its editorial director. He also launched ET Now and helped shape the digital coverage of ET Online. 

    Joshi was also employed with The Indian Express in the past. He is also on the board of News Broadcasters Association (NBA). 

    Vats is a management graduate from the Indian Institute of Management – Ahmedabad. Prior to joining Viacom18, he spent about 20 years in Hindustan Unilever (Unilever India) where he worked in sales & marketing and general management roles across categories and shaped many popular household brands. Vats is also chairman of the national media & entertainment committee of CII (Confederation of Indian Industry), VP of IBF (Indian Broadcasting Foundation) and director of BARC (Broadcast Audience Research Council).