News Broadcasting
NDTV Convergence Q1 revenue jumps by 65%; parent company reports loss
MUMBAI: NDTV’s digital business, NDTV Convergence, has enjoyed spectacular growth. Its revenue has jumped by 65 per cent to Rs. 380 million from Rs. 230 million in the same quarter last year. However, the parent company, NDTV, reported a consolidated loss of Rs 220.01 million for the quarter ended 30 June 2017 (Q1-18, current quarter) as compared to a profit after tax (PAT) of Rs 76.1 million in the immediate trailing quarter (Q4-17) and a loss of Rs 445.5 million for the corresponding year ago quarter.
NDTV Convergence now has 135 million unique visitors a month,which is more than 100 per cent increase over same period last year. Profit after Tax improved to Rs. 70 million compared to a loss of Rs. 30 million in the same quarter last year
The company launched RailBeeps,a new offering which allows users the fastest possible experience in tracking updates on their railway bookings. The product currently tracks live data on over 12,000 Indian trains, and allows users to discover the best trains, organize all their routes and trips in one place.
NDTV’s consolidated total income was almost the same year-on-year in Q1-18 at Rs 1,096 million as compared to Rs 1085.7 million, but declined sharply quarter-over-quarter from Rs 1,525.2 million.
NDTV’s consolidated total expenditure in the current quarter at Rs 1,284.3 million was substantially lower y-o-y than the Rs 1,477.6 million in Q1-17 and also lower q-o-q than the Rs 1,393.2 million in Q4-17.
The company’s television segment reported slightly lower y-o-y revenue in Q1-18 at Rs 1034.8 million as compared to Rs 1064.1 million in Q1-17 and lower q-o-q than the Rs 1,459.2 million in the immediate trailing quarter.
The group EBITDA improved by Rs. 19 million compared to same quarter last year. EBITDA from Television & Digital segments achieved break-even in this quarter, says the company.
The Group EBITDA loss was reduced from Rs. 210 million last year same quarter to Rs. 2 million in current quarter due to improved contributions from the digital business, cost reduction initiatives, improved productivity and reduction of losses in e-Commerce business.
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.
