News Broadcasting
NDTV redefines excellence in 2024 election coverage
Mumbai: NDTV has once again proven its unmatched position as the premier destination for intelligent and meaningful news with its dynamic and captivating coverage during this election season. From breaking news to in-depth analyses, NDTV ignited the electoral fervour with “India Decides” and “Chunav India Ka,” presenting an electrifying array of innovative formats to comprehensively cover elections across states, featuring over 100 reporters and more than 1000 ground reports.
The programming commenced with “Battleground with Sanjay Pugalia,” spotlighting key political figures in major cities. NDTV’s “Election Carnival,” launched in April, covered over 11,000 kilometres and 50 cities, providing unparalleled electoral insights from the ground. The “Pledge to Vote” initiative mobilized corporate leaders from the likes of Jayen Mehta (MD, Amul), Ajay Bijli (MD, PVR Inox), Rohit Kapoor (CEO, Swiggy), and Nadir Godrej (Chairman and MD, Godrej Industries) to drive voter participation among employees.
This holistic election coverage featured trailblazers spanning various domains, leading the line-up was PM Narendra Modi who engaged with NDTV on multiple occasions along with key figures from the Union Cabinet such as the minister of home affairs Amit Shah, the minister of defence Rajnath Singh and the minister of external affairs Dr S Jaishankar. These interviews highlighted the government’s achievements, national security efforts, and future plans, offering viewers a comprehensive understanding of the political landscape. Following this, prominent figures like Chandrababu Naidu & Pawan Kalyan, Anurag Thakur, Piyush Goyal, Revanth Reddy, KC Venugopal, Milind Deora, Amitabh Kant and Sachin Pilot also shared their insights, further enriching the coverage.
Additionally, we traveled 7,400 kilometers through southern India, engaging with 39 prominent leaders across 19 Lok Sabha constituencies in 4 states, engaging with key figures such as Siddaramiah, Shashi Tharoor, Annamalai, and Vijayendra Yeddyurappa, focusing on regional issues and transformative development initiatives.
The interviews with PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, in particular, garnered extensive attention, with multi-million views across platforms, and achieved a social impression of over 3 billion as per Twitter Analytics.
For the two marquee days of the season, NDTV’s “Poll of Polls” aggregated exit poll data, offering a balanced and comprehensive view of voter preferences and electoral trends, crucial for voters and analysts alike, and the Counting Day coverage, with its campaign #ResultKyaRaha, amassed massive traction.
“NDTV has consistently upheld a legacy of trust and credibility, reinforcing its position as the premier destination for comprehensive election coverage. As this election season concludes, we are proud to have significantly contributed to shaping voter opinions. Through intelligent conversations, high-quality production, engaging interactions, and sharp, focused discussions, we stood out from the herd and made a real impact”, NDTV – editor-in-chief and CEO Sanjay Pugalia.
NDTV also launched some groundbreaking initiatives, such as the innovative #NDTV18KaVote engaged first-time voters with influential young leaders and the youth-centric “Yuva” conclave. Meanwhile, “Poll Curry with Kunal Vijaykar” offered a unique blend of politics and local cuisine, featuring dynamic discussions with prominent political personalities.
The comprehensive 360 campaign, backed by a Pan-India media plan, gained substantial traction across platforms and topped industry charts on many fronts:
. As per data from industry platform SimilarWeb, NDTV.com was the No.1 English news website, with a groundbreaking 23.3 million visits worldwide, far ahead of every other English news website in the country on June 4th 2024
. According to BARB, UK, NDTV 24×7 was the No. 1 Asian channel in the entire UK, achieving the highest reach among all Asian channels on June 4th 2024.
. On YouTube, NDTV 24×7 attracted a peak concurrency of 94k, far higher than most others in the industry. Source: Playboard. YouTube Peak Concurrency, 4th June. 8:00 AM to 1:00 PM. (NDTV 24×7)
This comprehensive programming strategy and extensive marketing plan not only set NDTV apart in the industry but also made a significant contribution to the democratic process.
News Broadcasting
Senior media executive Madhu Soman exits Zee Media
Former Reuters and Bloomberg leader says he leaves with “no regrets” after brief stint at WION and Zee Business
NOIDA: Madhu Soman, a veteran of global newsrooms and media sales floors, has stepped away from Zee Media Corporation after a short stint steering business strategy for WION and Zee Business.
In a reflective LinkedIn note marking his departure, Soman said his time within the network’s corridors was always likely to be brief. “Some chapters close faster than expected,” he wrote, signalling the end of a nearly two-year spell in which he oversaw both editorial partnerships and commercial strategy.
Soman joined Zee Media in 2022 after more than a decade abroad with Reuters and Bloomberg, returning to India to take on the role of chief business officer for WION and Zee Business. His mandate was ambitious: bridge the newsroom and the revenue desk while expanding digital and broadcast reach.
During the stint, Zee Business reached break-even for the first time since its launch in 2005, while WION refreshed programming and strengthened its digital footprint across platforms such as YouTube and Facebook.
But Soman suggested the cultural fit proved uneasy. Describing himself as a “cultural misfit”, he hinted at deeper tensions between editorial instincts shaped in global newsrooms and the realities of India’s television news ecosystem.
Before joining Zee, Soman spent more than seven years at Bloomberg in Hong Kong as head of broadcast sales for Asia-Pacific, expanding the company’s news syndication business across several markets. Earlier, he held senior editorial roles at Reuters, overseeing online strategy in India and managing Reuters Video Services from London.
His career began in television and wire reporting, including a stint with ANI during the 1999 Kargil conflict, before moving into digital publishing as India’s internet media landscape took shape.
Now, after nearly three decades in broadcast and digital media, Soman is leaving Delhi NCR and returning to his hometown, Trivandrum.
Exhausted, he admits. But unbowed. And with one quiet line that sums up the journey: he didn’t sell his soul — because some things, after all, are not for sale.
