ITV

Tag: Zee Business

  • Zee News sees improvement in profits in FY 2013 financials

    Zee News sees improvement in profits in FY 2013 financials

    MUMBAI: By the time Zee News Ltd announces its financials this time next year, it could well be sporting a new name Zee Media Corp. It could well also have merged its news broadcasting business with Essel group publication DNA as proposed by its board (see Zee News-DNA: merger on the cards?). Additionally, it could well also have news and infotainment channels in Rajasthan and Bihar/Jharkhand on air (it plans to launch them in the first half this year) adding to the roster it already runs in Zee News, Zee Business, Zee 24 Taas, Zee Punjabi, Zee News UP, Zee Tamil, Zee 24 Gantalu, and 24 Ghanta.

     

    That could well be good news for any Zee News watcher. But what is better news is the fact that the company has achieved a turnaround of sorts by reporting a profit in Q4-2013 of Rs 6.87 crore. That’s despite a drop in ad and overall revenues in the quarter. Subscription revenues have, however, been buoyant in the period.

     

    Let us look at the Q4-2013 results as against corresponding Q4-2012

     

    Revenues for Q4-2013 stand at Rs 79.06 crore, a dip of 8.43 per cent from last Q4- 2012’s Rs 86.34 crore. Of this, subscription revenues have increased to Rs 22.2 crore as against last quarter’s reported Rs 20.8 crore. Ad revenues have declined to Rs 52.2 crore from Rs 56.3 crore.

     

    Operating costs have significantly dropped to Rs 14.15 crore as against last corresponding quarter’s Rs 21.39 crore. However the overall expenses have surged to Rs 78.05 crore, a rise of over 9.6 per cent from Rs 71.02 crore of the last corresponding quarter especially with its employee benefit expenses rising to Rs 23.2 crore (a rise of 22 per cent annually).

     

    EBITDA for the quarter was disappointing at Rs 4.68 crore as against Rs 18.4 crore reported in the last corresponding period, a dive of over 74 per cent.

     

    PAT for the quarter (Q4-2013) at Rs 6.87 crore is a massive surge of 300 per cent from a reported loss of Rs 3.95 crore in the last corresponding quarter- Q4-2012..

     

    Let us look at the consolidated annual FY-2013 financials vs FY-2012

     

    While total revenues have slipped to Rs 303.81 crore in FY-2013 as against FY-2012’s Rs 307.22 crore, subscription revenues for the full year have surged by over 13.5 per cent to Rs 84.27 crore as opposed to last year’s Rs 74.27 crore. Subscription revenues contributed to 27.7 per cent of the total revenues indicating stronger viewer demand for the channels, while ad revenues standing at Rs 202 crore contributed a majority to the total revenue stream.

    Expenses have risen 5 per cent to Rs 278.23 crore from last year’s Rs 265 crore, with its employee benefit expenses at Rs 87.7 crore increasing by over 17.4 per cent. EBITDA for the full year is reported at Rs 37.54 crore a drop of over 29.6 per cent from last year’s 53.35 crore.

     

    Net profit for FY-2013 has ballooned 109 per cent to Rs 24.17 crore as against FY-2012’s Rs 11.55 crore. The major reason for this surge is the pouring in of funds through sources apart from its core operations including the Rs 4.8 crore dividends it received from its subsidiary Zee Akash News Pvt. Ltd. Its interest cost has narrowed to Rs 8.79 crore as against last year’s reported Rs 10.66 crore. Also the taxation costs have reduced by 3 per cent over the year.

     

    Its online property Zeenews.com has been doing well and gaining traction. Even its microsite for the India Vs Australia series generated close to 2.9 million page views while its Union budget site knocked up 1.3 million page views.

     

    Says Zee News managing director Punit Goenka,” Our subscription revenues have shown a double digit increase and have partially compensated for the revenue constraints from a tepid advertising response in the backdrop of a muted period of growth. Out constant endeavour to bring innovative, quality and unbiased content to the viewer will remain the cornerstone of our programming. We aspire to be the one-stop destination for news in the country by building seamless synergy among the group’s TV, print and digital platforms. Our company is redefining itself in tune with the changing times, laying emphasis on the digital medium and addressing broader viewer tastes.”

     

    Adds Zee News CEO Alok Agrawal,” The Zee bouquet of news channels reached the highest number of people across the country touching over a 100 million viewers the last quarter of the fiscal. The network also had the highest relative share in the same period. It is a testimony to the fact that our viewer oriented and innovative programming has shown results. Our differentiated offering to business news viewers has resulted in Zee Business being a leader in five out of 13 weeks of the quarter. Also we are seeing a significant swing of viewers from English business news to Hindi business news. In the last quarter we expanded our footprint by establishing our presence in burgeoning central Indian states of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh with the launch of news and infotainment channel-Zee Madhya Pradesh/Chhattisgarh.”

  • Zee News Ltd’s Q4 Ebitda stays strong, slips into net loss due to Akash Bangla

    Zee News Ltd’s Q4 Ebitda stays strong, slips into net loss due to Akash Bangla

    MUMBAI: Zee News Ltd (ZNL) has slipped into net loss in the fiscal-fourth quarter due to an old investment made in Akash Bangla, but its Ebitda has stayed healthy and beat forecast expectations.

    ZNL has provided for Rs 166.7 million towards diminution in value of strategic investments and provision for doubtful advance share application money given to Akash Bangla. ZNL holds around 18 per cent stake in Akash Bangla, the Bengali infotainment channel.

    The company has posted a consolidated net loss of Rs 39.51 million for the three-month period ended 31 March 2012 compared to a net profit of Rs 66.49 million a year ago. In the trailing quarter, ZNL’s consolidated net profit stood at Rs 99.7 million (after minority interest), even as its advertising revenue had degrown marginally compared to the year-ago period.

    Ebidta for the quarter rose to Rs 184.1 million from Rs 138.3 million, representing a 33 per cent increase. Margins stood at 21.3 per cent.

    The company’s net sales from operations climbed to Rs 859.81 million for the quarter, an increase of 13.8 per cent over the year-ago period.

    ZNL CEO Barun Das said, “We have come out of the economic slowdown stronger than most. Our focus on ad revenues from non-traditional streams has helped us post a better growth compared to the industry which is expected to stay flat or show early single digit growth.

    ZNL’s advertising revenue stood at Rs 562.9 million, up 0.4 per cent YoY. Subscription revenue grew 8.1 per cent QoQ to Rs 208.3 million on better collections by Media Pro.

    “The real growth in subscription revenues was higher as they were booked net of expenses which were necessitated due to formation of Media Pro, which pays subscription revenues to Zee net of expenses,” ZNL said.

    The company reported fourth quarter consolidated revenues of Rs 863.6 million, an increase of Rs 104.42 million over the earlier year. Revenue from other sales and services was at Rs 92 million. This mostly includes the value of inventory of programmes and films of Zee Tamil transferred to Zee Entertainment.

    The company’s total expenses for the quarter under review rose 9.4 per cent to Rs 679.5 million as against Rs 620.9 million a year ago.

    Cost of operations went up from Rs 159.85 million to Rs 200.8 million even as employee benefits cost remained flat at Rs 176.42 million compared to Rs 174.14 million in the corresponding quarter of the same fiscal.

    The revenues for Zee News, Zee Business, Zee 24 Taas, Zee Punjabi, and 24 Ghanta grew at 15.5 per cent for the quarter to Rs 822.3 million from Rs 711.8 million, with Ebidta margins of 28.1 per cent.

    The new business loss for the quarter came down to Rs 47 million for the last quarter from the loss of Rs 108.2 million in the same period last year due to discontinuance of Zee Tamil.

    Subsequent to discontinuance of Zee Tamil, the company has transferred part of inventory of programmes and films related the channel to Zeel of Rs 198.47 million for FY’12.

    Full fiscal performance

    ZNL has posted consolidated full-fiscal revenue of Rs 3072.2 million, an increase of 11 per cent over the earlier year.

    Advertising revenue grew 2.2 per cent to Rs 2 billion during the fiscal while subscription revenue rose just one per cent to Rs 742.7 million.

    Total expenses rose 8.3 per cent to Rs 2.54 billion on account of increase in cost of good & operations and employee cost increasing 19.5 and 7.5 per cent to Rs 703.7 and Rs 744.8 million respectively.

    Commenting on the results, Das said: “Our Ebidta has stayed strong. We continue to be committed to long term growth in all aspects of business. Being on a healthy growth path post demerger of GECs, a series of strategic initiatives are on the cards which will be implemented in due course of time.”

  • Slowdown halts Zee News Ltd’s expansion plans

    Slowdown halts Zee News Ltd’s expansion plans

    MUMBAI: Television news broadcaster Zee News Ltd (ZNL) has halted its expansion plans due to a slowdown in the economy.

    After demerging from Zee’s entertainment broadcasting business, ZNL had chalked out a plan for more channel launches after spending a year in consolidating its operations.

    “Our focus last year was on consolidation. But for the slowdown, we would have expanded our bouquet this year,” said Zee News Ltd chief executive officer Barun Das in an interview with Indiantelevision.com. 
       
    News broadcasters will have to increase their fleet of channels if they have to scale up their revenues. “It is difficult for established existing channels to post ad revenue growth beyond 10 per cent. Expanding the bouquet and strengthening it is key to a TV news broadcaster’s growth strategy,” said Das.

    ZNL is looking at launching regional news channels but an English general news channel is also on the cards. “It would preferably be regional news channels first but we have not ruled out an English news channel. It all depends on the fund position and the extent of the slowdown. When we are looking at growth, we can’t take the market for granted anymore,” averred Das.

    ZNL is looking at posting a revenue of over Rs 3 billion this fiscal even as it forecasts a sluggish growth for the industry in the next two quarters. The company had reported a revenue of Rs 1.43 billion for the six-month period ended September 2011.

    “The next two quarters are not going to be easy. But we expect to outgrow the market by at least 5 per cent,” said Das.

    ZNL owns and operates seven channels including Zee News, Zee Business, Zee 24 Taas, Zee Punjabi, 24 Ghanta, Zee 24 Ghantalu and Zee News UP.

  • Zee News Ltd posts 19.5% ad rev growth in shaky environment

    Zee News Ltd posts 19.5% ad rev growth in shaky environment

    MUMBAI: Zee News Ltd (ZNL) has posted second-quarter advertising revenue growth of 19.5 per cent but has cautioned that the economic environment is still shaky and could turn worse after the festive spending is over.

    The television news broadcasting company‘s ad revenue for the three-month period ended September stood at Rs 486.5 million compared to Rs 407.2 million a year ago, constituting 61.5 per cent of its total revenue.  
         
      “Given the current market conditions, we have done well. News channels had a dismal second quarter last year and this time the festive season has advanced. Going forward, the ad scenario looks bleak. But we are preparing ourselves for the impending recession and will come out with innovative solutions. Even during the thick of the recession in 2008, we did better than the industry. We expect to outgrow the market by 5-10 per cent,” Zee News Ltd chief executive officer Barun Das told Indiantelevision.com.

    ZNL‘s subscription revenue has de-grown during the quarter due to the transition to Media Pro, a distribution company formed by Star Den and Zee Turner, but would look up in the subsequent quarters. Pay-TV revenues stood at Rs 160.1 million, down 17.5 per cent from the year-ago quarter.

    “The subscription revenue figures showed degrowth as they have been booked net of expenses. This change has been necessitated due to the formation of Media Pro, which pays subscription revenues to Zee, net of expenses. But as things settle down, we should be seeing a growth of 10 per cent in our subscription income,” Das averred. 

    Consolidated net profit stood at Rs 34.82 million compared to Rs 2.24 million a year ago.

    Ebitda was at Rs 85.1 million, up 21.2 per cent from Rs 70.2 million.

    ZNL‘s revenue jumped 28.5 per cent to Rs 791.3 million. This included a one-time transaction of sale of programmes and film rights from Zee Tamil to Zee Wntertainment Enterprises Ltd (Zeel) of Rs 124.2 million. Without this, ZNL‘s revenue would have grown by eight per cent over the year-ago period.

    “The sale will also be captured in the next two quarters of the fiscal,” said Das.

    Operating expenses rose 29.4 per cent to Rs 706.2 million. ZNL said that subsequent to Zee Tamil discontinuance, the company transferred part of inventory of programmes and films related to Zee Tamil. Accordingly, Other Sales & Services as well as Cost of Goods & Operations are higher by this amount.

    The existing news channels (Zee News, Zee Business, Zee 24 Taas, Zee Punjabi and 24 Ghanta) reported Ebitda of Rs 146 million, while Ebitda loss from the new channels was at Rs 60.9 million.
      

  • Zee News Q1 net drops 7.8% on weaker ad rev

    Zee News Q1 net drops 7.8% on weaker ad rev

    MUMBAI: Zee News Ltd (ZNL) has reported a 7.8 per cent fall in consolidated net profit for the fiscal first-quarter, hurt by a dip in advertising revenue as the cricket World Cup and the Indian Premier League (IPL) attracted advertisers.

    The net profit for the three months ended June 2011 stood at Rs 50.9 million, pulled down by a 3.5 per cent drop in advertising revenue as many product categories that advertise on the news channels went through a slowdown phase. The slide was somewhat halted by a control in expenses.

    Said ZNL managing director Punit Goenka, “The new financial year has started slowly, but considering that the industry de-grew, ZNL has done well to match up with Q1 FY11. Incidentally, ZNL had an exceptionally good Q1 in the last year. In this quarter, the monies got diverted to sporting events, thereby upsetting budgets for other genres including news. We had anticipated this slowdown and had planned accordingly.”

    Operating revenue declined 1.8 per cent to Rs 636.6 million from Rs 648.5 million a year ago.

    Expenses also fell 1.3 per cent to Rs 560 million, compared with Rs 567.3 million in the earlier year. Ebitda for the first quarter stood at Rs 76.6 million, 5.8 per cent down from Rs 81.2 million.

    Said ZNL CEO Barun Das, “While ZNL experienced some slowdown in revenues due to some critical spending product categories being under the weather, our cost effectiveness stood us in better stead compared to the industry in terms of healthy balance sheet.”

     
      ZNL‘s advertising revenue fell to Rs 436.4 million, as against Rs 452.2 million.

    Among the expenses, the cost of goods and operations and other expenses fell. However, it was offset by a 14.7 per cent rise in the employee cost.

    ZNL posted Ebitda profit of Rs 139 million from its existing business (Zee News, Zee Business, Zee 24 Taas, Zee Punjabi and 24 Ghanta). However, in the earlier year, Ebitda was stronger at Rs 208.3 million.

    The company, however, managed to narrow the Ebitda loss from its new businesses (Zee 24 Ghantalu, Zee News UP) to Rs 62.5 million. This was mainly because of discontinuation of Zee Tamil on 31 March 2011. In the year-ago period, the Ebitda loss from the new business was Rs 127.1 million.

    The company, however, expects the environment for revenue from the news business to improve. Said Goenka, “Going forward, the news genre looks likely to recover traction with eclectic properties that would be seen as viable spending options. In the meantime, the company recently has adopted a new identity infusing freshness in its look and the market has responded enthusiastically to it.”

  • Zee Business, Stockezy.com partner for online show

    Zee Business, Stockezy.com partner for online show

    MUMBAI: Stockezy, the social investing community designed to connect the Indian stock market with investors, and Zee Business have tied-up to reproduce the popular stock market related show, D Street ka Don, on the Stockezy website.

    The objective behind this partnership is to facilitate a large number of people and investors to catch the programme details and post questions on Stockezy.com as per their convenience and not be restricted to programme timings.  
         
    The Stockezy website will summarise and recap the show’s key highlights that educate and empower the investors on how to analyse the market trends and stocks to make informed decisions.

    The show features stock analyst Rajesh Tambe as the don of the stock market who takes queries from the viewers during the show and provides responses. With the launch of its online avatar on Stockezy, investors now have the flexibility to submit their specific queries and get advice online even after the show hours.

    Stockezy CEO Tushar Makhija said, “We are extremely happy with our partnership with Zee Business for its D Street ka Don. This first of its kind partnership, is a step forward in our vision of facilitating every Indian to invest wisely and take benefit of the Indian stock market. With D Street Ka Don, Stockezy will not only offer an interesting customer experience but also expert advice from Tambe at viewer’s convenience.”

    The main idea behind this tie-up is to bring information closer to Stockezy and Zee Business followers.

  • Zee News Q4 net up 221% at Rs 66.5 mn

    Zee News Q4 net up 221% at Rs 66.5 mn

    MUMBAI: Zee News Limited (ZNL) has posted a consolidated net profit (after minority interest) of Rs 66.48 million for the quarter ended 31 March, a 221 per cent jump over the year-ago period.

    The company had posted a net profit of Rs 20.70 million in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal.

    ZNL’s total consolidated revenues for the three-month period stood at Rs 759.7 million, up 26.5 per cent, compared to Rs 600.6 million in the fourth-quarter of previous fiscal.

    Meanwhile, expenses also jumped 10.7 per cent to Rs 621.7 million, from Rs 561.8 million a year ago.

    Profit before tax for the quarter stood at Rs 128.2 million, up from Rs21.8 million in the year-ago period.

    ZNL posted Ebitda profit of Rs 247.8 million (Rs 105.7 million in previous year quarter) from its existing business (Zee News, Zee Business, Zee 24 Taas, Zee Punjabi and 24 Ghanta). However, its Ebitda loss from new business (Zee Tamizh, Zee 24 Ghantalu and Zee News UP) widened to Rs 109.8 million from Rs 66.9million (from loss of Rs 116.5 million).

    Meanwhile, for the full fiscal ended 31 March, the company has posted a net profit of Rs 163.67 million, down from Rs 456.84 in the previous year. However, the company clarified that in view of the demerger of regional general entertainment channels with effect from the appointed date of 1 January 2010 from ZNL to Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL), numbers for the full year are not comparable with the previous year numbers.

    Revenue from the fiscal stood at Rs 2.77 billion (from Rs 5.29 billion), while expenses were at Rs 2.34 billion (from Rs 4.38 billion). Ebitda profit from existing business was at Rs 868 million (Rs 1.33 billion in previous year) while Ebitda loss from new business was Rs 444 million, down from 427.2 million.

    ZNL chairman Subhash Chandra said, “The network has outperformed competition when assessed as a business unit by posting profits in not a very favourable scenario. In retrospect, we can safely affirm that our decision to consolidate the news business and focus on regional markets has yielded positive results.”

    ZNL CEO Barun Das added, “Our focus on current deliverables even while we cement our long term strategy has ensured that we have closed another year on a positive note. The upbeat results are reflective of all-round performance, with every channel making a contribution. Advertising and subscription have continued to grow and further digitalization will only augment our position. Our ability to reinvent ourselves as per the changing dynamics and sensitivity to the need of the serious news viewers appear to have been instrumental in our success in this quarter as well as the year.”

  • Euro RSCG wins creative mandate for Zee Business

    Euro RSCG wins creative mandate for Zee Business

    MUMBAI: Euro RSCG has won the creative mandate of Zee Business. The account size, pegged at between Rs 80 to 100 million will have the agency‘s Gurgaon branch handle the business. The pitch process for the account was initiated last month.

    Says Euro RSCG chief creative officer Satbir Singh, “The hunger for business news in Hindi speaking areas is multiplying as opportunities spread outside metros. Zee Business has been the leading medium on air, catering to that part of the population. We will work with the client to further strengthen its position as the undisputed channel of choice for business news in Hindi.”

    The incumbent agency for the account was DraftFCB Ulka.

    Adds Zee Business business head Raktim Das, “We liked the agency‘s execution. Primarily, we wanted to bring out a fresh new perspective on the brand positioning, ‘Aap ka Faida‘. We have been working on the same positioning for some time with DraftFCB Ulka. However, we wanted to use the same tagline, and foray into more audience engagement programmes and content in specific time bands.”

  • ‘We have helped in the democratisation of the business news market space’ : CNBC Awaaz editor-in-chief Sanjay pugalia

    ‘We have helped in the democratisation of the business news market space’ : CNBC Awaaz editor-in-chief Sanjay pugalia

    Five years and counting big. CNBC Awaaz dominates the Hindi business news segment, leaving counterpart Zee Business behind, and even marching ahead of elder sibling CNBC TV18 in terms of audience reach.

     

    CNBC Awaaz has become more interactive along the way and has shaped up as a well-defined channel with a clear focus on utility news. It treats news with the aim of helping viewers take informed positions on investments.

     

    The fundamental challenge that CNBC Awaaz faces is in scaling up revenues. The cost restructuring will, however, help the channel in improving its profitability.

     

    In an interview with Indiantelevision.com‘s Gaurav Laghate, CNBC Awaaz editor-in-chief Sanajay Pugalia talks about the channel‘s growth in the last five years and the path ahead in terms of content that would guide viewers in the verticals of stock, tax planning, commodity and SMEs.

     

    Excerpts:
     
     
    CNBC Awaaz has completed 5 years. How has the Hindi business news market shaped up?
    Five years back there was no Hindi business news channel. Today, with just two channels in this segment, there are close to 38 million Hindi business news viewers and we command a 70 per cent market share in this.

     

    If you take the total viewership of the business news channels, it was close to 10 million five years back. Within two years of our launch, the pie grew to 30 million. Today, the combined viewership base for English and Hindi business news stands at almost 55 million.
     

     
    How come the Hindi viewership base is higher from just two channels while the revenue is much lower?

    On a mass basis, our appeal is larger then even CNBC TV18. Our viewers include small investors, consumers and businessmen. So in a way we have helped in the democratisation of the business news market space.

     

    On the revenue front, even some English business news channels can‘t command the kind of advertising rates we do. But yes, it is also true that the dynamics of the market is that English business channels get higher rates.

     
     
    So is it true that Hindi business news channels do not have a scalable model?
    There is a myth that Hindi is not so upmarket. But if you do an affluent audience profiling, we are as good as that of CNBC TV18. And if you see our viewership pattern, most of them come from Mumbai and Delhi, followed by Gujarat and Maharashtra.

     

    It is pertinent to note that the initial five years were a build-up stage. We will see much faster growth from now on.

     
     
    What made you edge out Zee Business when both were launched around the same time?
    The focus of our channel is in outlining the utility of news. There might be 10 important stories in a day, but how many are affecting our viewers? We decode such news in a manner that helps them understand the implications.

     

    We will be covering other news as well, but our main emphasis will be user-centric. We focus on helping our viewer make the right investments to increase their wealth. Take real estate as an example. Our focus stories will be on the ground realities the sector faces rather than talking about how to improve the policies on real estate. Our object will be how to help viewers decide on which property to buy and we will suggest the rates and other things there.

     
     
    Going forward, do you see space for more channel launches in this segment?
    Business news viewership will definitely increase with time. With more and more people getting capital to invest and more awareness spreading on personal finance management, this market segment is set to grow.

     

    Our estimate is that out of every 100 new consumers, two-thirds will come from the Hindi speaking belt, so you can imagine the future that the Hindi business news genre has.

     

    I would say there is scope for new channels, but the success will depend on the strength of the network and how much credibility they can build. It won‘t be easy for new players.
     

     
    Recently TV18 went through a cost restructuring and 12 per cent permanent jobs were cut. How effective has the move been in achieving profitability?
    Cost rationalization is a necessity for any business. But you will not see any change in the editorial content. I can‘t share the absolute numbers, but very few editorial jobs have been cut.
     
     

    ‘The focus of our channel is in outlining the utility of news. There might be 10 important stories in a day, but how many are affecting our viewers? We decode such news in a manner that helps them understand the implications‘
     
     

    So do you mean to say there was flab?
    No. There were different growth plans during the bull run. We were focusing on extended news gathering. Now the market scenario has changed. We also have sensed that the news gathering needs are different. You see, the market dynamics are changing very fast and we have to change our FPC as per viewer‘s needs.

     

    So we have reduced the number of shows but consolidated the information in them. We have also increased the coverage on commodity, personal finance, stocks and property.
     
     

    How has the channel evolved over time?
    Along with time, we have become more interactive; we promote direct involvement and grievance redressals. The treatment towards the stories has changed – and we are now positioned as an innovative business news channel.

     

    We are catering to the specific needs of our viewers. I get more then 6000 SMSes and emails daily. And we try to reply to most of the queries. We are not just a business news channel; we run more like a campaign or a movement.
     
     

    So what will the future focus be?
    As I said earlier, the focus will predominantly be on the markets, SMEs, commodity and tax planning.

     

    We will also continue to reach to our consumers on-ground with our activations and award properties.

     

    The way India is progressing, there will be lot more new and young entrepreneurs. Our one-year focus is to organize more of financial literacy campaigns, help SMEs to grow, and cover miraculous entrepreneurial stories from different places.

     
     
    And what about hard news?
    I am not missing out on news. News hour shows are sacrosanct. But we need to have other strong offerings.

     
     
    Hindi general news channels are into sensationalising content for gaining TRPs. Do you also see such a need for the business news segment?

    I do not think there is any need to sensationalise. I am not against presenting news in an interesting and stylish way, but there is no need or room to sensationalise. 

     

     So how will you define your channel?

    To sum it up in one sentence, we help viewers in spotting opportunities to prosper.
  • CNBC TV18 maintains leadership in Budget-day reporting

    CNBC TV18 maintains leadership in Budget-day reporting

    MUMBAI: The most important day for a business channel is undoubtedly the budget day and the channels take all measures to grab more and more eyeballs.

    This time, the competition among the English business news channels was more critical with the entry of ET Now, the channel from the nation’s biggest financial daily.

    However, as per the Tam data for 6 July, the genre remained unchanged with CNBC TV18 retaining its leadership position with 67 per cent channel share (CS 25+, All India), followed by NDTV Profit with 22 per cent share. Meanwhile UTVi and ET Now managed to bag 7 and 4 per cent viewership share respectively.

    For the whole week (5-11 July) too, the TV18 channel enjoyed a 72 per cent share, while NDTV Profit had a 14 per cent share. UTVi with 9 per cent share was ahead of and ET Now (6 per cent).

    Among the Hindi business channels, CNBC Awaaz maintained 69 per cent viewership while Zee Business got 31 per cent share on budget day as well as during the week under review, as per Tam (CS 25+, HSM).