News Broadcasting
NDTV reports operating profit after curbing op costs in Q1
BENGALURU: New Delhi Television Limited (NDTV) reported consolidated operating profit (EBIDTA) of Rs 5.99 crore for thefor the quarter ended 30 June 2018 (Q1 2019, quarter or period under review) as compared to an operating loss of Rs 14.25 crore for the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal year Q1 2018. The company’s consolidated operating revenue during the period under review declined 6.6 percent year on year (y-o-y) in Q1 2019 to Rs 98.18 crore from Rs 105.12 crore in Q1 2018. Consolidated total income for Q1 2019 declined 7.7 percent y-o-y to Rs 101.16 crore from Rs 109.60 crore.
NDTV reported lower consolidated loss of Rs 0.81 crore during the quarter under review as compared to a loss of Rs 18.38 crore in Q1 2018. Consolidated total comprehensive loss for Q1 2019 was lower at Rs 2.64 crore as compared to Rs 22.01 crore in Q1 2018.
Let us look at the other consolidated numbers reported by NDTV
Consolidated total expense in Q1 2019 reduced 20.6 percent y-o-y to Rs 102.08 crore from Rs 128.56 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Consolidated production expenses and cost of services increased 5.1 percent in Q1 2019 to Rs 18.83 crore from Rs 17.91 crore in Q1 2018. Consolidated employee benefit expense during the quarter under review reduced 35.2 percent y-o-y in Q1 2019 to Rs 38.77 crore from Rs 59.80 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year. Consolidated operation and administration expense reduced 17.2 percent y-o-y in Q1 2019 to Rs 19.94 crore from Rs 24.07 crore in Q1 2018. Consolidated marketing, promotion and distribution expense during the period under review reduced 16.7 percent to Rs 14.65 crore from Rs 17.59 crore in Q1 2018.
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.
