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Tag: Raghav Bahl

  • Ajay Chacko too to say ta-ta to Network18

    Ajay Chacko too to say ta-ta to Network18

    MUMBAI: Speculation was that if B. Sai Kumar goes, there was very little chance that Ajay Chacko – his deputy and COO of the Network 18 group would stay on. And the prediction has proved to be true. Chacko apparently has put in his papers too, leaving the Network18 group without any leadership,  apart from founding/controlling shareholder and managing director Raghav Bahl.

     

    The 40 year old Chacko’s role was to ensure operating efficiencies and margins across businesses of the Network18 group, according to the company’s website.  Ajay also served as the president of A+E Networks TV18, a joint venture between TV18 and A+E Networks, where he was responsible for the operational, strategic and financial management of the joint venture and its suite of channels and services.

     

    Both Sai Kumar and Chacko formed a formidable team at Network18 and were instrumental in supporting Bahl and former CEO Haresh Chawla in their aggressive growth at the Network18 group. Sai Kumar had stepped into Chawla’s  shoes in 2011 and he and Bahl  relied heavily on Chacko. Hence, he was  empowered with responsibility and growth opportunities at the group. 

     

    He had earlier led many of the group’s businesses such as CNBC-TV18, CNBC Awaaz and Forbes India and was instrumental in their ascendency as market leading media brands in the country. Ajay has also led the group’s efforts in the business media domain as well as the successful launches of key digital properties of Network18.
     

  • B. Sai Kumar departs from Network18

    B. Sai Kumar departs from Network18

    MUMBAI: People movements continue to dog the Network18 group. The latest to head towards the door is group CEO B. Sai Kumar who spent close to 14 years with Network18, founded by Raghav Bahl.  Sai had ably stepped into Haresh Chawla’s shoes when the latter decided to go his own way in his entrepreneurial forays.

     

    A notice to the Bombay Stock Exchange states that Sai Kumar was with the group during its formative years and that he was responsible for the creation and management of the group’s various ventures – the business news partnership with CNBC ; the general news partnership with CNN; the entertainment partnership with Viacom and the infotainment deal with A+E Networks and the group’s digital forays.

     

    Sai Kumar’s departure comes at a time when the group has reported turnaround financials just yesterday.

     

    The BSE  notice quotes Sai Kumar as saying: “Network18 has been an extension of my family. I take with me very good memories and I will always cherish the time spent here. It has been a tremendous learning ground. Passion and hard work – they brought to work everyday. While all good things come to an end, I see it as a new beginning and I am positive and hopeful that Network18 scales new heights hereon.”

     

    Added Network18 founder and editor Raghav Bahl in the BSE release: “It’s not easy to describe Sai’s role and contribution to the group. He has been one of the key pillars of the Network18 story. I am truly privileged to have been able to work with someone like Sai who has given the prime of his life to group and development of a baby called Network18, right from the days when it was a fledgling single channel operation to its evolution as one of India’s largest and most diversified and respected media companies. We shall miss him; but there comes a time when one takes heed to one’s calling and I wish Sai all the best for that.”

     

    The news has indeed come as a shocker to many in the industry. Amongst those who have put in their papers over the past year include: IBN18 CEO Dilip Venkatraman, CNBC TV18’s Udayan Mukherji, CNN-IBN’s Suhasini Haider.

     

    Dilip was recently replaced by former Times Television head Avinash Kaul.

     

    But the group has senior talent aplenty with the likes of Viacom18 CEO Sudhanshu Vats; Colors CEO Raj Nayak, Indiacast CEO Anuj Gandhi, and Network18 COO  Ajay Chacko.

  • TV18 Broadcast consolidated Q3 net profit up 142%

    TV18 Broadcast consolidated Q3 net profit up 142%

    MUMBAI: TV18 Broadcast Ltd’s consolidated net profit in the quarter ended December 31, 2013 rose 142 per cent from a year earlier on a fall in programming cost and marketing, distribution and promotional expenses and as its consolidated revenue increased.

     

    TV18’s reported revenues on a consolidated basis stood at Rs 525.5 crore in the third quarter of 2013-14, up 3 per cent from a year ago.

      

    TV18’s consolidated programming cost in the third quarter fell to Rs 142.58 crore from Rs 155.52 crore a year ago. Its marketing, distribution and promotional expenditure in the third quarter was down to Rs 140.78 crore from Rs 166.01 crore a year ago.

     

    The company reported its highest ever quarterly Operating Profit (EBITDA) at Rs 77.5 crore, up 61 per cent year-on-year with both the entertainment and news businesses turning in strong quarters.

     

    On a consolidated basis, the company’s advertising revenues grew 3 per cent year-on-year. While the news and infotainment advertising environment continued to be sluggish, entertainment led by Colors and MTV delivered strong double digit advertising growth.

     

    Its net distribution Income continued its steady growth at Rs 43.6 crore, a rise of 145 per cent year on year.

     

    TV18’s broadcast operations turned in a very strong quarter with an operating profit of Rs 91.1 crores, up 110 per cent on a year over year basis.

     

    TV18’s proforma results assuming financial consolidation of 100 per cent of ETV News  and 50 per cent of ETV Entertainment, showed its revenues were up 5 per cent at Rs 595.9 crore in the third quarter and pperating profit (EBITDA) was up 79 per cent year on year at Rs. 94.5 crores  led by a strong performance in ETV News.

     

    TV18 said on a proforma basis, this was a landmark quarter for TV18 with broadcast operations turning in an EBITDA of Rs 108.1 crore. ETV Entertainment reported a sharp reduction in losses compared to the previous two quarters as programming and marketing investments made in the first half led to an upswing in ratings and revenues.

     

    On 22 Jan 2014, after receiving the required regulatory approvals, TV18 completed the acquisition of the ETV channels  –  100 per cent of ETV News, 50 per cent of ETV Entertainment and 24.5 per cent of ETV Telugu.

     

    Raghav Bahl, Managing Director of Network18, the promoter of TV18, said, “…..the strong performance of TV18 (was) despite the continued uncertainty in the macro-economic landscape…. The environmental risks may continue in the medium term.”

     

    Bahl said the company’s pre-tax profits almost tripled due to the robust operating performance of the broadcast operations and a significantly deleveraged balance sheet.

     

    Network18’s Group CEO B. Saikumar, said, “Entertainment operations at Viacom18, led by Colors delivered a healthy performance even as Motion Pictures saw losses in this quarter. Infotainment operations at A+E Networks I TV18 broke into positive territory and IndiaCast continued on its robust growth trajectory.

     

    Click here for full report

  • CNBC-TV18 hosted 9th edition of India Business Leader Awards 2013

    CNBC-TV18 hosted 9th edition of India Business Leader Awards 2013

    MUMBAI: CNBC-TV18 hosted the 9th edition of ‘India Business Leader Awards’  (IBLA) – Asia’s  most  renowned  awards  for  Excellence  in  Leadership, presented by Omkar Realtors and Developers Pvt Ltd. The ceremony witnessed some of the most eminent names from India who were present at the Regal Room at Trident hotel, Mumbai on January 13th, 2014.

     

    “India Business Leader Awards 2013” celebrated the spirit of leadership and excellence in the business arena of India. The awards have been recognized to credit individuals and organizations that have symbolized corporate excellence and have taken Indian Business to a new stratum of fame. ‘India Business Leader Awards 2013’, CNBC-TV18’s flagship awards for leadership in business and the economy, recognized the leaders who ingenuously piloted their organizations in these times of economic turmoil.

     

    The singular idea for IBLA this year was to envisage the year 2014 and to honor those poised to champion it. IBLA 2013 emphasized on the selection of winners across categories who showcased men and women who have the ability, the vision, the capacity to rise above the current volatility and see the long term goal of putting India on the world map.

    The IBLA 2013 jury consisted of renowned names such as Deepak Parekh, Bimal Jalan, Arun Maira, Naina Lal Kidwai, AM Naik, KM Birla and Raghav Bahl.

     

    The awards witnessed top notch personalities like , Shivraj Singh Chauhan, Zia Mody, Shiv Nadar, Pratap Reddy, Vinod Rai, Satish Reddy, Kiran Kumar, Ashok Ganguly, Soli Sorabjee, N Chandra of TCS, R Balki, Krishnakumar Natrajan, CP Gurnani, MS Unnikrishnan , Anil Jain, Sam Pitroda and Piyush Goyal of BJP, Meera Sanyal and other CEOs Speaking about the awards, Anil Uniyal, CEO of CNBC-TV18 and CNBC AWAAZ said, “Currently in its 9th year, CNBC TV18’s IBLA has set a bench mark in valuing business leaders of India. IBLA commenced with the sole purpose of honoring India’s most exceptional corporate houses and individuals for their contribution to India Inc in times of global economic mayhem. We at CNBC TV18 hope to continue this initiative and reward the stalwarts of the industry who have uncompromisingly led their organizations in times of turmoil.”

     

    Speaking on the occasion Babulal Varma, Managing Director, Omkar Realtors and Developers Pvt Ltd said, “We are privileged to associate with CNBC TV18 and partner in hosting IBLA 2013, these awards recognizes pioneers from the Indian business fraternity. IBLA has transformed to one of the top most industry business awards in the country”

     

  • GS Home Shopping Leads Funding Round in HomeShop18 Company Raises USD 14 Million of Growth Capital

    GS Home Shopping Leads Funding Round in HomeShop18 Company Raises USD 14 Million of Growth Capital

    NEW DELHI: HomeShop18, India’s leading virtual commerce business, announced that it has closed a USD14 million follow-on funding round with GS Home Shopping (GS), funds managed by OCP Asia Ltd. (OCP Asia) & Network18. GS will invest USD 11 Million; OCP Asia & Network18 will invest the remaining amount. The transaction values HomeShop18 at USD 360 Million.

    Network18 will remain the majority shareholder (51%) in HomeShop18. SAIF Partners, GS Home Shopping and OCP Asia are the other existing investors at HomeShop18. GS is the third largest Home Shopping company in the world and the market leader in Korea.

    HomeShop18 launched India’s first 24 hour Home Shopping TV channel in 2008. Today, it provides an integrated virtual shopping experience on Internet, Television and Mobile through HomeShop18.com and the 24×7 TV channel. Since inception, HomeShop18 has acquired a customer base of 7.5 Million. It has built an impressive portfolio of over 12 million SKUs across multiple product categories and a logistical reach of over 3,000 locations across India. Homeshop18 is one of India’s fastest growing virtual commerce companies with revenues having more than doubled over the last year.

    Announcing the transaction, Sundeep Malhotra, CEO, HomeShop18 said, “This round marks an inflexion point for the business as the company rapidly moves towards profitability while continuing to scale up revenues. It is gratifying to see the vote of confidence in our business model from GS and the continued support of OCP and our Promoter, Network18.”

    Huh Tae Soo, CEO and President, GS Home Shopping said, “We are delighted to invest further in HomeShop18, India’s leading virtual commerce company. We believe that HomeShop18 is well positioned to capitalize on the Indian consumer opportunity and we look forward to supporting the company with our global experience. “

    Raghav Bahl, Managing Director, Network18 said that, “We are pleased to see that the business continues to grow strongly and that profitability is firmly on the horizon. A significant amount of value has already been built in the business and we are very excited about future prospects as the business continues to scale rapidly. GS has been a great partner in generously sharing their unique insights and expertise to help grow the business. We look forward to their continued support.”

    BMR Advisors acted as transaction advisors to the company.

  • Television business props up Network 18 Q1-2014; prevent further reddening

    Television business props up Network 18 Q1-2014; prevent further reddening

    BENGALURU: Network 18 Media & Investments Limited (Network 18) reported a profit after tax (PAT) of Rs18.9 crore in Q1-2014, as compared to a loss of Rs 90 crore in Q1-2013. Results from three of the four revenue segments of the media and entertainment player reported losses, with television playing the lone hand in keeping profits for Q1-2014 buoyant and positive. Though Network 18 reports combined figures for Television and Motion Pictures, company officials confirmed that Motion Pictures had also added to Network 18 losses. Despite showing revenue growth, the other two segments -digital content and e-commerce business; and allied businesses also pulled down profits for Q1-2014. Let us take a look at the figures for Q1-2014 Operating revenue for Q1-2014 stood at Rs 556.6 crore on a reported basis. The corresponding figure for Q1-2013 was Rs 435.6 crore, hence showing a 28 per cent growth for Q1-2014. Operating revenue during Q1-2014, was however lower by 18 per cent as compared to the Rs 679.6 crore for the preceding quarter Q4-2013. Revenue from the television and motion business at Rs 437.4 crore was 47.2 per cent higher than the Rs 297.2 crore for Q1-2013 but about 8.6 per cent lower than the Rs 511.3 crore for Q4-2013. Revenue from digital content and e- commerce at Rs 106.9 crore grew 46.8 per cent as compared to the Rs 72.8 crore in Q1-2013, and was about 3.2 per cent lower than the Rs 110.4 crore during Q4-2013. Revenue for Q1-2014 from allied businesses fell 37.7 per cent to Rs 65.6 crore from Rs 105.3 crore in Q1-2013 and 36.7 per cent from Rs.103.6 crore in Q4-2013. Digital content and e-commerce reported a loss of Rs 43.5 crore. Allied businesses reported a loss Rs 9.9 crore and Rs 9.2 crore were contributed to the losses from discontinued operations. Television and Motion picture business propped up the company with an operating profit of Rs 23.8 crore. The company turned in a profit after tax of Rs 18.9 crore for the quarter. Network18 managing director Raghav Bahl said, “The macroeconomic environment continues to be challenging and growth prospects remain uncertain. Despite this backdrop, our core TV and digital businesses turned in a steady performance. We continued the profitable monetisation of our investments and raised growth capital in HomeShop18. There were pockets of weaknesses in our portfolio and we are committed to improving segments that are not meeting expectations. We have a strong portfolio of media businesses and remain confident of unlocking its value for our stakeholders”. Network 18,group CEO B. Saikumar said, “The core television and digital businesses got off to a stable start in the new fiscal year. Our entertainment broadcasting business showed strength and the e-commerce businesses grew strongly. While our news and infotainment businesses have seen distinct softness in advertising, our entertainment businesses led by Colors have performed well on this front. Motion pictures have seen losses this quarter and the management is confident of stemming them in the immediate term. Net distribution revenues from IndiaCast are on a strong growth trajectory and we continue to be enthused by its growth potential. Our e-commerce businesses continued their stellar growth and the digital content business grew steadily as well. We remain confident of delivering a strong year ahead.”

  • Television business props up Network 18 Q1-2014; prevents further reddening

    BENGALURU: Network 18 Media & Investments Limited (Network 18) reported a profit after tax (PAT) of Rs18.9 crore in Q1-2014, as compared to a loss of Rs 90 crore in Q1-2013.

    Results from three of the four revenue segments of the media and entertainment player reported losses, with television playing the lone hand in keeping profits for Q1-2014 buoyant and positive. Though Network 18 reports combined figures for Television and Motion Pictures, company officials confirmed that Motion Pictures had also added to Network 18 losses.

    Despite showing revenue growth, the other two segments -digital content and e-commerce business; and allied businesses also pulled down profits for Q1-2014.

    Let us take a look at the figures for Q1-2014

    Operating revenue for Q1-2014 stood at Rs 556.6 crore on a reported basis.

    The corresponding figure for Q1-2013 was Rs 435.6 crore, hence showing a 28 per cent growth for Q1-2014. Operating revenue during Q1-2014, was however lower by 18 per cent as compared to the Rs 679.6 crore for the preceding quarter Q4-2013.

    Revenue from the television and motion business at Rs 437.4 crore was 47.2 per cent higher than the Rs 297.2 crore for Q1-2013 but about 8.6 per cent lower than the Rs 511.3 crore for Q4-2013.

    Revenue from digital content and e- commerce at Rs 106.9 crore grew 46.8 per cent as compared to the Rs 72.8 crore in Q1-2013, and was about 3.2 per cent lower than the Rs 110.4 crore during Q4-2013.

    Revenue for Q1-2014 from allied businesses fell 37.7 per cent to Rs 65.6 crore from Rs 105.3 crore in Q1-2013 and 36.7 per cent from Rs.103.6 crore in Q4-2013.

    Digital content and e-commerce reported a loss of Rs 43.5 crore. Allied businesses reported a loss Rs 9.9 crore and Rs 9.2 crore were contributed to the losses from discontinued operations. Television and Motion picture business propped up the company with an operating profit of Rs 23.8 crore. The company turned in a profit after tax of Rs 18.9 crore for the quarter.

    Network18 managing director Raghav Bahl said, “The macroeconomic environment continues to be challenging and growth prospects remain uncertain. Despite this backdrop, our core TV and digital businesses turned in a steady performance. We continued the profitable monetisation of our investments and raised growth capital in HomeShop18. There were pockets of weaknesses in our portfolio and we are committed to improving segments that are not meeting expectations. We have a strong portfolio of media businesses and remain confident of unlocking its value for our stakeholders”.

    Network 18,group CEO B. Saikumar said, “The core television and digital businesses got off to a stable start in the new fiscal year. Our entertainment broadcasting business showed strength and the e-commerce businesses grew strongly. While our news and infotainment businesses have seen distinct softness in advertising, our entertainment businesses led by Colors have performed well on this front. Motion pictures have seen losses this quarter and the management is confident of stemming them in the immediate term. Net distribution revenues from IndiaCast are on a strong growth trajectory and we continue to be enthused by its growth potential. Our e-commerce businesses continued their stellar growth and the digital content business grew steadily as well. We remain confident of delivering a strong year ahead.”

  • Gulf Oil presents ‘LEADER TALK’ with Sir Vivian Richards and Raghav Bahl

    Gulf Oil presents ‘LEADER TALK’ with Sir Vivian Richards and Raghav Bahl

    New Delhi, 30 July 2013: At a time when India is looking for young and dynamic leadership in all spheres, CNN-IBN, in association with Gulf Oil, brings you LEADER TALK, a unique new talk show that will explore the ever-evolving aspects of leadership, be it in a corporate boardroom or in a sports arena.

    This week on the show, IBN Network Editor-in-Chief Rajdeep Sardesai talks to West Indian cricket legend Sir Vivian Richards and Raghav Bahl, Founder and Editor of Network18. On the show, Sir Richards talks about the challenge of bringing together individuals from different islands and leading them to success, while Raghav Bahl adds that trust and empowerment are the two things that people respond to. Also on the show, Sir Richards reveals that he was inspired by the likes of Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu and Fidel Castro, while Raghav talks about the inclusive leadership of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru.

    The show will be aired on CNN-IBN every Saturday at 12:30 PM, followed by a repeat telecast on the same day at 10:30 PM and on Sunday at 10:00 AM and 7:30 PM.
    More details on this series can be viewed on www.ibnlive.com/leadertalk.

  • CNBC TV18’s Udayan Mukherjee steps aside for Shereen Bhan

    CNBC TV18’s Udayan Mukherjee steps aside for Shereen Bhan

    MUMBAI: The news came as a shocker to many. After 15 years with the Network18 group and CNBC TV18, managing editor Udayan Mukherjee has decided to step aside from his full time role, giving way to executive editor Shereen Bhan, who will step into his shoes and manage the channel on a day to day basis from 1 September 2013.

    Udayan, who apart from working on the daily business news bulletin, anchors live market shows like Bazaar Morning Call and other daily and weekly shows like Corporate Radar and Taking Stock, will, however, continue to work with CNBC TV18 in an advisory and consultative capacity.

    A release issued by Network18 stated that Udayan “has been facing issues of professional exhaustion.”
    Udayan Mukherjee will continue to work exclusively with CNBCTV18 in a consultative capacity

    The reasons for his decision are entirely personal; Udayan pointed out that he wants to devote more time to other pursuits. And confirming the Network18 statement on his exhaustion Udayan said in the release: “..the responsibility of running the channel has become repetitive and I had a difficult time motivating myself to continue. At this stage of my life I need to devote more of my time to other personal passions and interests.I wish the new editorial leadership team the very best and will try, in my limited way, to contribute to its success.

    The senior Network18 management showered praise on Udayan even as he announced his decision. Network18 founder & editor Raghav Bahl and group CEO B. Sai Kumar both said that Udayan has ably led the team to many successes and has helped make CNBCTV18 a benchmark in business news. Said Bahl: “Shereen has all the skills and experience to take this mantle forward and we look forward to her leadership.” Added Sai Kumar: “In Shereen we entrust the task of leading CNBC-TV18 onto new levels of growth and leadership… look forward to his (Udayan’s) new role with us.”

    (Updated 10:42 pm, 10 July 2013)

    The Twitterverse was buzzing with tweets at the time of the announcement. Here’s some of them which were on the button and those which were not:

     

     

  • Network18 Media on a turnaround trail

    Network18 Media on a turnaround trail

    MUMBAI: The Network18 group is doing very well, thank you. The group’s media holding company Network18 Media & Investments has reported results which show that the management led by managing director Raghav Bahl and group CEO B. Saikumar is slowly but surely driving it back to profits.

    The company has reported revenues of Rs 679.5 crore in Q4 FY 2013 as against Rs 697.4 crore in Q3 FY 2013. Revenues for the full financial year ending 31 March 2013 are at Rs 2400.8 crore as against Rs 1943.8 crore – a jump of 23.51 per cent. This was driven primarily by an almost doubling in revenues from its digital content and ecommerce vertical to Rs 400.9 crore (from Rs 233.8 crore) for the whole year. Its television and motion picture vertical too leaped ahead 36.62 per cent in revenues to Rs 1725.5 crore (Rs 1262.9 crore).

    The company shaved off its operating expenses for Q4 2013 to Rs 666.8 crore from Rs 686.8 crore in Q3 FY 2013. For the whole year ending 31 March 2013, its operating expenses rose to Rs 2440.1 crore (Rs 2239.9 crore).

    Operating profits for the group during Q4 2013 were at Rs 12.8 crore against Rs 10.6 crore during Q3 FY 2013 keeping its operating margin at 2 per cent. During Q4 FY 2013, there was a drop in the company’s television and motion picture unit’s operating profits to Rs 34.6 crore (from Rs 48.1 crore). The operating losses for its digital content and e-commerce vertical fell to Rs 24.3 crore from Rs 31.3 crore in this period. The operating margins for its television and motion picture business in Q4 FY 2013 decreased to seven per cent (nine per cent in Q3 FY 2013).

    For the whole year, there has been a drastic reduction in its operating losses to Rs 39.2 crore (Rs 296 crore). Its television and motion picture business which reported operating profits of Rs 107.1 crore (Rs 1.6 c rore) and allied businesses (publishing), which saw a decrease in losses to Rs 46.9 crore from Rs 118.8 crore, helped staunch the red ink. Its digital and e-commerce business continued to lose money operationally with an operating loss of Rs 125.4 crore (Rs 126.3 crore). The operating margins for its TV and motion pictures have improved from 0 to 6 per cent for the full year.

    Network18’s consolidated debt as on 31 March 2013 stood at Rs 211 crore, down 90 per cent from Rs 2130 crore at the end of FY12.

    Interest costs for Q4 FY 2013 were reduced to Rs 38.9 crore (Rs 53.1 crore in Q3 FY 2013). For the whole year it managed to keep its interest cost under control at Rs 272 crore (Rs 270.7 crore in FY 2012).
    It managed to report a net profit of Rs 50 lakh in Q4 FY 2013 (Rs 6.8 crore in Q3 Fy 2013). For the full year, it managed to improve its bottomline with a reduction in losses to Rs 105.5 crore (Rs 392.7 crore).

    During the year, Network18 profitably sold its entire stake in Newswire18, divested its Yellow Pages and Askme businesses and diluted its majority stake in Book My Show. These transactions, in line with the strategy to exit non-core businesses, added Rs 180 crore to the annual profit and raised Rs 235 crore for the Network18 Group.

    Says Bahl: “We are delighted to inform our investors and stakeholders that at both Network18 and TV18, we have successfully deleveraged our balance sheets and have delivered strong operating performances. Network18s and TV18s net debt now stands at less than one-fifth of the peak levels and our interest payments have come down sharply. We are confident that we are now entering a sustained value creation phase in our journey as we continue to strengthen our existing operations and consolidate our regional acquisition.”

    Adds B. Saikumar: “We are extremely pleased that our digital and broadcast operations have turned in a sustained and healthy operating performance during the year despite softness in the advertising environment. Our e-commerce businesses have turned in another stellar year and our digital content businesses continue to grow steadily. We are now on a solid net distribution income trajectory and while our flagship channels like CNBC TV18/Awaaz, Colors and CNN IBN continue to perform admirably, we are also enthused by the performance of recent launches and the motion pictures business. Inspite of near term challenges given the macro-economic headwinds, we are hopeful of delivering a strong year ahead.”