News Broadcasting
CNN-News18’s new multimedia campaign showcases its year-long hold on No.1 spot
Mumbai: To showcase its year-long dominance in English news viewership, CNN-News18 India launched a multimedia campaign on Wednesday.
The English news channel released a page one ad in all editions of The Economic Times to announce its leadership in the genre. The multimedia campaign has gone live across digital platforms including social media, and is being extensively amplified on trade media platforms.
The campaign launched in The Economic Times newspaper highlights CNN-News18’s comprehensive, year-long lead over its key competitors both on TV and digital. The TV data shows that CNN-News18 has captured 35.3 per cent market share, which is significantly larger than that of Republic TV and Times Now. With Republic TV at 29.6 per cent and Times Now at 23.5 per cent market share, CNN-News18 stands apart as the undisputed leader in the English news segment. (Source: BARC | Market: India | TG: 2+ | Period: AVG Wk 16’22 – 29’23 | 8 Channels considered | Market share%)
On the digital front, CNN-News18 has captured a whopping 1.4 billion views on YouTube, surpassing Times Now and Republic TV at 795 million and 226 million views respectively. (Source: Socialblade | Period: Aug’22-July’23)
Furthermore, the channel displayed remarkable performance on Facebook with 787 million views. While Times Now stayed on the second spot with 731 million views, Republic was left far behind at 66 million views on Facebook. (Source: Crowdtangle | Period: Aug’22-July’23)
The high decibel campaign with a sharp copy and a bold visual breaks the category code to drive home the message and reiterates News18’s No.1 position among its competition with respect to viewership.
Since BARC resumed ratings of news channels in March 2022, CNN-News18 has consistently led the way in the English news genre. With dedicated viewership and impactful presentation of prime time anchors like Zakka Jacob, Anand Narasimhan, and Shivani Gupta, CNN-News18 is poised not only to expand its market share but also to enhance its brand image and establish stronger ties with advertisers with its growing visibility.
News Broadcasting
Rajesh Sundaram joins NDTV Profit as senior editor, assignment
The 32-year newsroom veteran has launched channels on three continents and covered everything from 9/11 to South African television
MUMBAI: NDTV Profit has bolstered its newsroom with a hire who has done rather more than most. Rajesh Sundaram, a journalist with over three decades of editorial, managerial and consultative experience across India and international markets, joins as senior editor, assignment, tasked with sharpening the network’s newsgathering and real-time response.
Sundaram’s career reads like a tour of Indian media’s most formative moments. He began at Businessworld in 1994, moved to Zee News as bureau chief across Mumbai and Chennai, then joined NDTV in 2002 as part of its political bureau during a particularly febrile period in Indian politics. A stint as India correspondent for Al Jazeera International followed, where he covered key geopolitical developments and got his first serious taste of the global newsroom.
What sets Sundaram apart, however, is his serial channel-launching habit. At NewsX, he helped get the operation off the ground. At Headlines Today, part of the India Today Group, he served as editor. At News Nation, he helped launch the Hindi news channel and its digital ecosystem. He then crossed continents to lead the launch of ANN7 in South Africa as editor-in-chief, overseeing both television and digital. Back in India, he launched Tamil news channels News7 Tamil and Cauvery News, and later served as principal consultant for the launch of Marathi channel Lokshahi. Most recently, he helped build and lead the Press Trust of India’s video service and content studio, before stints consulting for Business Today and The Himalayan Times.
Rahul Kanwal, chief executive and editor-in-chief of NDTV, left little doubt about what Sundaram is expected to deliver. “The assignment desk is where a newsroom’s intent becomes action,” he said. “Rajesh brings a rare combination of field experience and leadership in building news operations at scale.”
Sundaram has reported from across India and the world, covering elections, civil conflicts, the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks and the 2008 US presidential election.
At NDTV Profit, he will lead the assignment desk, driving editorial coordination and real-time response across markets and breaking developments. For a business news network sharpening its focus on speed and multi-platform delivery, it has hired a man who has built newsrooms from scratch on three continents. The assignment desk is in good hands.
