News Broadcasting
CNBC asserts lead over NDTV 24×7 among affluent adult males
MUMBAI: The ratings war is well and truly joined. Three days after NDTV’s new business channel NDTV Profit asserted it had toppled market leader CNBC-TV18 in viewership among business news channels, comes the riposte.
A release issued by the business news channel leader reaffirms a position it had taken at the outset in response to the assertions made by NDTV Profit of overtaking CNBC-TV18 if a C&S 4+ all India market was taken as the sampling TG. Quoting the latest TAM data (22-29 January), CNBC claims pole position among English news channels at 36 per cent channel share among of 25+ males in SEC AB. That is even ahead of Profit’s English news channel sibling NDTV 24×7, which has a 33 per cent share. And where does Profit figure in this listing? In the fourth position with a 9 per cent channel share just behind Headlines Today at 11 per cent.
Interestingly, CNBC’s argument is validated by Ravi Kiran, managing director, West/South Starcom Mediavest, who says, “As a media planner, this (the TG that CNBC has used) represents to me the core viewership of an English news channel.”
Elaborating further on the trends the data threw, Sai Kumar, vice-president, CNBC-TV18 says, “Also noteworthy is the potential of the business television space; going by the fact that within a month of its launch NDTV Profit has managed to get a 9 per cent share. We are confident, that Awaaz, our consumer channel in Hindi will exploit this potential even further.
News Broadcasting
Times Network to air JVC Exit Poll across 5 regions on April 29
Four-hour broadcast spans states and Puducherry with data-led analysis
MUMBAI: Times Network is set to roll out what it calls one of its most expansive election programming efforts yet, culminating in the JVC Exit Poll on 29 April, with a multi-hour broadcast spanning key poll-bound regions.
The exit poll will air across Times Now and Times Now Navbharat, beginning at 5pm and 4pm respectively. Co-powered by Vedanta and Jindal Stainless, the programming aims to combine on-ground reportage with data-driven projections across West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and Puducherry.
The network has deployed over 50 journalists across these regions, gathering voter sentiment and local insights in the run-up to polling. The effort builds on its ongoing election formats such as Election Yatra and Election Premier League, which have tracked campaign narratives and community-level issues.
In parallel, Times Now Navbharat has focused on constituency-level reporting in West Bengal through its Jan Gan ka Mann series, capturing voter opinions across diverse segments.
The coverage has also featured interviews with prominent political leaders. Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Congress leaders Ramesh Chennithala and V D Satheesan have appeared on the network’s election specials. From Tamil Nadu, voices including deputy chief minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran, BJP leader K Annamalai and NTK’s Seeman have also featured in discussions.
On the day of the exit poll, the network’s primetime anchors, including Navika Kumar, Zakka Jacob and Sumit Awasthi, will lead the coverage. They will be joined by a panel of political analysts, psephologists and senior journalists offering real-time insights and interpretation of trends.
The programming will integrate grassroots reportage with analytics from the JVC Exit Poll, aiming to give viewers an early sense of electoral outcomes ahead of the official results on 4 May.
With its combined English and Hindi broadcast reach, Times Network is positioning this effort as a comprehensive look at voter sentiment, blending field reporting, data and debate to decode what could lie ahead when the final mandate is revealed.
