News Broadcasting
NDTV to focus on Convergence to increase profit
MUMBAI: NDTV has been trying various measures to keep its spending under control and to increase its profits for the group. In a shareholder meeting held recently, the company has laid out its past and future plans for profit.
A special focus is being given to special events as well as the introduction of pre-sponsored bands beginning with NDTV Prime.
What the network has also been doing is cost optimisation according to a study by E&Y. Thus, it restructured NDTV Profit by bringing down personnel and overhead cost as well as extensive cost cutting measures in NDTV Goodtimes.
Now it is looking at focusing on its core businesses for growth while cutting down on non-core businesses. One of its core businesses is NDTV Convergence, the digital side, which it says has been giving it revenue growth at 46 per cent CAGR in last six years while it turned EBIDTA positive in FY 2012. On the other hand NDTV 24X7, its flagship property has been giving it average annual profit of Rs 40 crore per year over the last three years.
To tap into the digital sector, the network is continuing to invest in its online assets namely NDTV News, NDTV Sports, NDTV Movies, NDTV Gadgets, NDTV Cooks and the newly launched NDTV Auto. It is also contemplating restructuring so that shareholders can squeeze out maximum value from NDTV Convergence.
NDTV Convergence clocks more than 40 million unique visitors per month, more than 2.4 billion minutes of premium videos streamed per annum. The statement says that ‘the sum of the parts of NDTV group assets is not reflected in the market cap of NDTV. This is particularly true for the value of its digital assets.’
On the other hand, NDTV India, its loss making Hindi channel got its EBIDTA breakeven in FY 2014, which it hands out to the new content strategy of offering relevant content to the Hindi speaking market. NDTV Prime that launched with pre-sponsored bands for technology, auto and property with channel sponsor Micromax for a period of three years, was draining out Rs 40 crore on an annual basis. With the dual channel model, it hopes to achieve financial stability by next year.
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.
