News Broadcasting
DD News, NDTV lead poll result speed stake
NEW DELHI / MUMBAI: The re-launched DD News is not only proving the sceptics wrong, but has managed to keep the heat on on its competitors. At least till now. And in the process has also managed to attract advertisers.
Today, DD News claimed to have kept its promise of providing the fastest and most authentic results of the assembly elections. DD News and NDTV were neck and neck in giving updates on wins and leads throughout the morning.
By 11.05 am, DD News had given the leads and wins in all the 590 assembly seats, spread over Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. DD News and NDTV were followed by Aaj Tak, Sahara Samay, Zee News and STAR News, according to an internal analysis of Prasar Bharati that manages the affairs of DD and All India Radio.
Besides being fast with the tally, DD News was also first with the news of Digvijay Singh conceding defeat and announcing political ‘sanyas’ (hibernation) for 10 years.
The quick relaying of trends and results was the outcome of an alliance with another government infotech organisation, National Informatics Centre (NIC).
DD News had entered into a special arrangement with NIC Net as a result of which all the polling centres in four states were linked with DD News studio through a customised software. Advanced news gathering devices, including video phones were also pressed into service.
Meanwhile, the special election news and analysis programme began at 8 am, which continued throughout the day, featuring interviews of deputy prime minister LK Advani, the vanquished chief minister of Madhya Pradesh Digvijay Singh, BJP party chief Venkaiah Naidu and politicians of all hues, including Congress’ Girija Vyas, Anand Sharma, and BJP’s Saheb Singh Verma and Ravi Shankar Prasad.
There were live inputs from DD News correspondents in Delhi, Jaipur, Bhopal and Raipur, besides expert analysis with studio guests. Naveen Surapneni, psephologist from Centre for Media Studies (CMS) analysed and interpreted the poll results.
DD News, since its launch on 3 November, has emerged as a serious player in the news channel market. On last count DD News was occupying a steady second position, behind Aaj Tak, in cable and satellite homes with a 16 per cent share for the third week of November.
MARKETING SUCCESS FOR DD NEWS, STAR NEWS, NDTV
On the marketing front too, DD News’ election coverage was a good show. Over 5,000 seconds of inventory was sold by the Prasar Bharati marketing division in Mumbai. More than half of it was sold at two-thirds premium. Hero Honda, Reliance India Mobile Phone, Ad Gel, Emami, MDH, Dabur, Electrolux, S. Kumar’s were among the major advertisers.
There was good news for Star News as well on the ad sales front. Said Star News’ ad sales head Joy Chakravarti: “All our existing ads have stayed with us during the election week. Apart from that a whole lot of new advertisers have joined us this week.”
“For the month of November we managed to get the largest ad sales revenue amounting to a whopping Rs 89 million. And even now our channel is totally sold out because of the elections,” added Chakravarti.
Speaking about the new advertisers on board Chakravarti said, “A whole lot of new brands have come on Star News this week. They are Om Kotak, Bell Granito, RPG Cable, Amity, UB Group, Nirma, Link Pens and Himani Sona Chandi Chwanprash.”
Whereas NDTV Media CEO Raj Nayak said, “There have been no new ads on both our news channels during this particular week. In fact, all our regular advertisers have booked their spots on our Hindi and English news channels for the week.” NDTV 24×7 and NDTV India were sold out during the election week. Nayak said, “We did not have any inventory left so we could not take many ads. It is a demand and supply situation. This time round the demand overtook the supply.”
The lowest effective rate that NDTV’s Hindi news channel was booked at was Rs 1,800 per 10 seconds. The rates varied between Rs 1,800 – Rs 3,000 per 10 seconds. Whereas it’s English news channel was booked at Rs 8000 – Rs 10,000 per 10 seconds.
Nayak said there were some spot buys that were sold for a premium today. “There are some spots that came in only for today (4 December) but I don’t want to name them as the clients may not like it. A spot on our English news channel was booked for as much as Rs 25,000 per 10 seconds only for today.”
The Sonia Gandhi-led Congress may have been left licking its wounds at the mauling it got at the hustings but the news channels certainly have something to crow about.
News Broadcasting
GenNext takes charge as Network18 reshuffles leadership
With Avinash Kaul bowing out, Network18 hands reins to younger leaders, streamlines operations, and pushes data-driven growth across TV, digital and regional markets
MUMBAI: Network18 is redrawing its leadership map just as a long-time lieutenant bows out. Avinash Kaul, a central figure in the broadcaster’s rise since 2014, is leaving after 12 years to pursue “professional and personal goals”, triggering a broad-based reshuffle that puts a younger cohort directly under the top brass.
Kaul joined at a pivotal moment during the company’s transition and went on to scale the television business, combining strategic nous with data-led decision-making and a sharp read of the news landscape. “Avinash has been an integral part of the Network18 story,” the company said, thanking him for his leadership of the broadcast business and wishing him the best for the future.
In his wake, Network18 is betting on what it calls a “young and restless” leadership bench. “The team has taken charge and proved its mettle in quite adverse circumstances,” the note said, adding that “GenNext has seamlessly stepped in as we continue to outperform our peers.”
Operationally, the structure is being flattened. Smriti Mehra, S Shivakumar and Mitul Sangani will work directly with the top leadership, as they did in the fourth quarter. Ganesh Iyer and Abhinay Chauhan continue in their existing roles, while younger executives are being handed wider mandates across social, digital, connected TV and linear.
The reporting lines are being tightened to drive revenue and product momentum. Prabhat Chatterjee, business head–Forbes, and Arun Thapar, president–content and communication for AETN-18, will report to Smriti Mehra, alongside Mallika Nath Handa, who will lead special projects spanning new shows and non-linear properties. Jayesh Gokalgandhi, CFO for AETN-18, will report to Ramesh Damani.
Mitul Sangani will oversee expansion in Hindi and regional markets, with Sidharth Newatia, CRO–ILC, focusing on reach and revenue growth, particularly in tier-II and III markets. Pankaj Soni, head of marketing–ILC, will also report to Sangani while working functionally with Ganesh Iyer.
The group is also consolidating its branded content play. Moneycontrol’s branded content business will be folded into News18 Studio, with Don Zarrar moving to work with Shivakumar while continuing to lead existing studio and Focus teams.
International and platform growth are being bundled together. Pranav Bakshi takes on additional charge of the international business alongside connected TV and social platforms, with Naveen Mathur, who leads revenue management for the international unit, reporting to him. Bakshi continues to report to Puneet Singhvi.
On the technology and operations side, Rajesh Sharma, head of broadcast technology and IT; Rahul Singh, head of events and technical operations; and Bhupender Bhardwaj, head of IT security, will now report to Singhvi. Darshil Parekh, head of sales strategy, planning and operations, will work directly with Ramesh Damani and the top leadership, with Stanley Cyril, who manages digital sales operations, reporting to him.
Data is being pushed to the centre of decision-making. Jitamitra Mohanty, who leads research and analytics, will now work with Santosh Menon to turn audience data into “actionable insights that drive content strategy, product innovation and sustainable viewership growth”.
The message is clear: fewer layers, faster calls, sharper bets. With Kaul’s exit closing one chapter, Network18 is handing the wheel to a younger crew and doubling down on scale across screens. The race, it signals, will be run at full tilt.
