ITV

Tag: S Divaakar

  • News First enters Year 3 with a New Tagline, ‘Fearless…For You’

    News First enters Year 3 with a New Tagline, ‘Fearless…For You’

    Mumbai: When News First started on 20 September 2020, it was the most extreme challenging times one can imagine.

    Started in the midst of Covid Phase 1.

    Welcomed without BARC ratings within 4 weeks of launch.

    Embraced by Covid Phase 2 soon after.

    The rollercoaster in the first 18 months didn’t deter News First.

    When the ratings eventually were restored, News First had broken into the Top 5. No mean achievement given the once in the many generations obstacles  upfront.

    News First had made a name for itself in super quick time with exclusives not  seen in Karnataka.  

    This includes political breaks, programming innovations like AI MAYA, high  impact investigations like Murugasri Scandal (the notorious religious head) –  which no one dared pursue, World Exclusive interview with KGF director Prashant Neel, Getting Karnataka’s most famous TV legal eagle,  TN Seetharam to host a weekend show on the channel – for the First time on  Indian News Television …the list goes on.

    Today, News First has become the channel of choice for Politics, Cinema and  Cricket.

    The channel is in the Top 3 in a number of markets, in reach and time bands. The brand is amongst the leaders on outube and Facebook too. Three years after being every moment for the people of Karnataka, News First  is making a departure.

    The channel is embracing the a new tagline, Fearless… For You.

    Speaking about this MD & CEO S Ravikumar said, “Every moment in our three year journey was about dare and care.  This is evident in the number of news breaks we dared to do and the number of  stories for the people we carried. We felt the time was right to translate our actions into our brand messaging. The existing tagline shows our softer version. The new tagline adds aggression to the softness.”

    Editor in chief Maruthi SH said,“Our dares and cares have always been for people in need. But the dares have extended to exclusive shows, exclusive interviews, exclusive  concepts and celebrating other achievers’ dares. To that extent, dare has a whole wide range of meanings for us at News First”

    Business head S Divaakar said, “Our news content was always our forte. People have helped us grow steadily. The market is seeing it week on week. My team is looking forward to surge with the aggressive new intent of the  brand.”

    A new year, a tagline, with new intent.

    News First surely has stood the test of challenging times.

    The times ahead will show how far they can go from the current position of  strength.

  • Former TV9 senior execs to launch News First; a Kannada news channel for the quality-conscious viewer.

    Former TV9 senior execs to launch News First; a Kannada news channel for the quality-conscious viewer.

    Catering to the changing demands of quality-conscious viewers, two former executives of TV9 Kannada, who were responsible for its immense success, are launching a new 24×7 Kannada language news channel called News First. 

    The new-age news channel will be different in its approach and offering, in comparison to the existing players in the market, aiming to curb the audience fatigue that has set in the market.

    News First will have an exciting lineup of programmes dominated by strong content created with the blend of technology and creativity. Backed by a strong team, the channel will introduce sophisticated graphics and exclusive content that will be new to the Kannada market. 

    The brand already has a strong digital presence, with 620K+ subscribers on YouTube and a similar number of followers on Facebook.

    The brand is making all the right noises online and has accumulated close to 220 million video views on YouTube and attains around 24 million reach on Facebook monthly.

    Elaborating on his vision for the new channel, News First editor-in-chief SH Maruthi said,

    “We at News First look at quality as something beyond the visible. It’s in every aspect of news delivery. Most of all it is in contextualizing content as per TV and digital requirements.”

    News First CEO S Ravikumar shared, “When we helped set up TV9 Kannada in 2006, live news was still an unknown quantity. Our energies were all into bringing live news to an audience fed on recorded news. Today the market is so much more dynamic, audiences are so much more fleeting and eager for freshness in news. At News First, we are acutely aware of content being the mainstay of today’s news culture. That’s why we have an exciting line up of innovative programs to make audiences savour our programming menu.”

    News First business head S Divaakar added, “The Kannada TV news market is a competition between channels living on the edge and between No. 2 and No. 3. There is no one thinking of having a go at the market leader, which currently seems undisputed. With a solid product, innovative program line up and a competent team, we are keen to go for gold. The pluses are keeping us in high spirits. It is a highly challenging situation for sure, still, we’ve been getting very positive vibes from the market. We believe if there is anyone who can quickly move up to No. 2, it’s us.”