News Broadcasting
Balance-sheet, impact, fun is the mantra; Raghav Bahl & Ronnie Screwvala
MUMBAI: At the IAA Knowledge Series held at ITC Maratha in Mumbai today were the two successful entrepreneurs Raghav Bahl and Ronnie Screwvala. Bahl is known for pioneering TV news in India – along with NDTV’s Prannoy Roy – whereas Screwvala (a serial entrepreneur ) is known for building a robust TV and film business which was acquired by Disney in India. Both shared the tale of their journey in the media business. The duo shared their business secrets for young budding entrepreneurs. They also opened up about their plans of their new trysts with media.
Bahl began by saying that his new business venture The Quint was not here to reinvent any business models like he did with CNBC TV18 by creating the business news genre. “We have to bring disruption through superior and quality content. We started CNBC TV18 11 and the revenue line was Rs 4-5 crore. Today, the business news market is worth Rs 400 crore. As equity knowledge goes deeper, investors will come in. The USP has to be content. We have to be independent and the editorial issues have to be edgier and bolder. That’s a big thing.”
“We crossed paths and swords during the launch of the UTV-Bloomberg channel and when the UTV ticker went out through CNBC channel,” adds Ronnie Screwvala.
Both known for their gutsy moves of launching several channels, Bahl pointed out that CNN-IBN and Colors are the two things he made big bet son, while Screwvala is of the opinion that Bindass was a risky decision that he took.
With digital booming in India and emergence of several platforms for content consumption, broadcasters, multinationals and Indian non-media start-ups entering the OTT/VOD space. Screwavala was of the opinion that MNC’s like Netflix and Amazon have figured out that India is a local market and expensive series will not be successful.
“At the core of this is whether the consumer is willing to pay? This will again bring back to the advertising economy or the fee economy. It is not a venture capital game but advertising where it’s always going to be cost-minus. So, that’s the real disruption which will again only happen by the people who really want to shake up this market.”
The two of them accepted the fact that payment gateways are essential make-or-break tools for these services.
“There are too many different businesses. What I think is, you cannot mix content business with OTT business. You have to decide whether you want to be in the content game or in the distribution game. Netflix, according to me, is an exception which proves it. It will have to figure out whether it is a content company else they can end up in the same confusion as Yahoo. If you can build a compelling proposition for a consumer, then everything will follow,” explained Bahl.
But, did we not want to know more of the duo’s impatience and gutsy decisions? Certainly, yes. Explaining the exit Bahl said, according to the regulations, a partner needs to have 51 per cent equity in a business which is not something entrepreneurs are open to as it means giving up control. “I was not allowed to not dilute it further. The regulations are very first-generation thing. It was either diluting ourselves or exiting.”
“Exits cannot be timed. You cannot rewind the clock whether in media or in life. I have no regrets. It is as exhilarating now as it was when I started UTV,” added Screwvala.
Witnessing several ups and downs in the business, both of them shared their success mantras for young entrepreneurs, Bahl said, “Just go by your balance-sheet. Do not go beyond it. Young entrepreneurs should not get seduced by the media. You guys have not become superstars until you do not have a strong balance-sheet. Be resistant to changing times because it’s not a sexy, glamorous field to be in but very stressful.”
“You build what you want to build and stay constant about it and your vision. Today’s ecosystem is forcing you to grow a little bit horizontal, but do not go by what investors want. If you are not curious, then this is not the space for you,” concluded Screwvala.
News Broadcasting
CNN-News18 to air live counting day coverage for five state election results on May 4
The channel is rolling out its biggest election coverage machinery yet for results day on 4th May
NOIDA: The votes have been cast. Now comes the reckoning. CNN-News18 is pulling out all the stops for results day on 4th May, when counting begins across five battleground states — West Bengal, Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and the Union Territory of Puducherry — in what promises to be one of the most closely watched electoral verdicts in recent memory.
The channel’s coverage, titled Battle for the States: The Verdict, kicks off at 7am and runs through the day across linear TV, connected television and YouTube. It is the culmination of CNN-News18’s multi-format editorial initiative, Battle for the States, which has tracked the polls from the beginning under the theme Road to Power.
At the operational heart of the coverage will be the Live Results Hub, the channel’s central command centre built to collate, verify and process real-time data flowing in from reporters stationed at counting centres across constituencies. The hub combines newsroom intelligence, analytics and on-the-ground reporting to deliver what the channel promises will be the fastest and most accurate results coverage in English news.
Leading the on-air charge will be primetime anchors Rahul Shivshankar, Anand Narasimhan, Aman Sharma, Nabila Jamal and Shivani Gupta. They will be joined by a wide panel of commentators including author Chetan Bhagat; GVL Narasimha Rao, senior leader of the BJP; Smita Prakash, editor of ANI; activist Saira Shah Halim; political analyst Sumanth C Raman; Abhijit Iyer Mitra, senior fellow at IPCS; Amitabh Tiwari, founder of VoteVibe; columnist Abhijit Majumdar; Nalin Mehta, managing editor of MoneyControl; political analyst Tehseen Poonawalla; senior journalist Subir Bhaumik; and political analyst Manojit Mandal.
Shivshankar, who serves as editorial affairs director at CNN-News18, set out the stakes plainly. “Counting day is one of the most watched events in the electoral cycle, where speed and credibility are tested in real time,” he said. “Battle for the States: The Verdict is built on that promise, combining ground reporting, sharp analysis and cutting-edge election technology to give viewers the clearest and fastest route to the verdict. On May 4, CNN-News18 will once again be the nation’s most trusted channel to witness democracy in action.”
Smriti Mehra, chief executive of English and Business News at Network18, framed the coverage in broader terms. “Elections are defining national events, and audiences turn to brands they trust in moments that matter,” she said. “CNN-News18 has consistently led from the front in every election coverage, and this special programming reflects the scale of our ambition and editorial strength.”
The channel has form here. It claims to have been India’s most preferred English news destination for election results for the past 20 years, covering everything from the 2024 general elections to the Delhi, Maharashtra, Bihar and BMC polls on the back of what it calls an “Always First, Always Right” record. Five states, one day, and a nation waiting for answers. The clock starts at 7am on 4th May.
