News Broadcasting
NDTV floats subsidiary in Netherlands; Q3 net profit up 85% at Rs 48.8 million
MUMBAI: News major NDTV Ltd, while declaring an 85 per cent rise in net profits for the quarter, anounced that it has floated a subsidiary – NDTV Networks BV in Netherlands.
This new company will wholly own NDTV Networks Plc and its underlying subsidiaries – NDTV Imagine, NDTV Lifestyle, NDTV Convergence and NDTV Labs and 50 per cent in NGEN Media Services. All these subsidiaries are currently wholly owned by their respective parents and would engage in implementing the new business initiatives to be undertaken by NDTV, the company said in a release.
Indiantelevision.com had first reported that NDTV Group had floated Networks Plc, UK, which would play a big role in bringing in investments for the entertainment and other non news channels. The company had applied for Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB). Reportedly, the approval is for pumping in $130-160 million in the form of foreign direct investment (FDI).
Hindu Business Line has reported that the subsidiary would raise funds in the overseas market, particularly through listing on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) segment of the London Stock Exchange. While $106 million would be invested into NDTV Imagine (a non-news Hindi mass entertainment channel), FDI to the tune of $25.23 million would be pumped into NDTV Lifestyle which would be engaged in the business of content production for TV channels dedicated to travel, food, fashion, shopping and health and wellness in India and abroad.
NDTV Q3 net profit up 85 per cent at Rs 48.8 million
Meanwhile, NDTV has reported 85 per cent rise in net profit to Rs 48.8 million in the third quarter ended 31 December 2006 against Rs 26.4 million in the year-ago period.
Total income rose 15.21 per cent to Rs 793.8 million from Rs 689 million during the same period. The company’s operating profit margin dropped from 22.24 per cent to 17.77 per cent year on year.
Profits and revenues rose despite huge incubation costs, the company said in a release.
“NDTV’s Indonesian JV (Astro Awani) made profits this quarter within just six months of its launch. The channel is on track to launch its Malaysian channel shortly. The company has also launched operations in Australia and New Zealand,” the statement added.
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.
