MUMBAI: Since last few years, the eight-year old business channel from the NDTV group, NDTV Profit grappled to make decent business. While the noise about it going under a revamp started mid-last year, it has come to shape now. From March 17, the biz channel will adopt a dual role – that of NDTV Profit during the market hours and NDTV Prime airing infotainment and lifestyle programmes post 5 pm. The logo will also change accordingly.

NDTV Group CEO Vikram Chandra while professing the loss that the group was incurring because of the channel, remarks, “For several years, the bulk of our losses were coming from Profit. In the last few months, Hindi channel has picked up well but the question was whether to sell, shut or restructure the business channel. We didn’t want either of the first two options. So we have innovated and adopted a cost rationalisation method, to be followed by the dual channel strategy.”

Now, everything seems to be falling in place for the channel as it has already managed 80 per cent sponsors for the year, while discussions to get more are on. According to sources some of the sponsors associated with the channel are Micromax, Chroma and MRF Tyres.

“It is not a secret that we don’t believe in television audience measurement (TAM) anymore. We have adopted a sponsorship approach across the network with an idea to get sponsors interested in the programmes before they even go on air,” says Chandra.

The time slots for different programmes have been decided. Education shows would be aired between 6:30 to 7 pm; 7 to 8 pm is for real estate and property; tech and auto programmes will be telecast from 8 to 9 pm; while 9 to 11 pm has been kept for entertainment shows, the details of wish Chandra doesn’t wish to disclose at the time being.

The shows have been produced in-house as well as outsourced. Weekends will have repeat telecast of weekday shows for the first few months. Not sounding too boastful, Chandra remarks, “We are looking to double the ad revenue once Prime begins because this is going to be an exciting channel.”

The annual loss of the channel has come down from Rs 40 crore to Rs 19 crore. “The benefits of cost rationalisation in NDTV Profit will be seen now. Two-three years ago we were losing about Rs 3 crore a month which has now come down to about Rs 1.5 crore a month even with the Prime incubation costs. Once NDTV Prime goes on air, we are confident that every band on the channel will be individually profitable,” he optimistically remarks.

As India enters its last phases of digitisation, Profit/Prime sees itself benefitting. “With digitization, appointment viewing has gone up. Before this, viewers would flip through several channels but now they like to remember fixed times. We will now have fixed bands for tech and auto in which we are market leaders, together with bands for entertainment and property,” adds Chandra.

Another cost-cutting measure taken by the channel has been by shifting its main office from Mumbai to Delhi where besides sharing space, equipments could be shared with others too.

With little over a month left for the revamp, announcement will begin this week. Only time will tell how the arrangement works!

BENGALURU: New Delhi Television Limited (NDTV) reported a consolidated loss of Rs (10.43) crore in Q3-2014. Its Retail/ecommerce business reported an operating loss of Rs (5.38) crore, or 51.58 per cent of the total loss during the quarter.

NDTV’s Television media and related business operations (TV business) reported an operating profit of Rs 3.29 crore for Q3-2014 as compared to a loss of Rs (1.98) crore during the immediate trailing quarter and a profit of Rs 14.05 crore for the corresponding period of last year. For the nine month period ended 31 December 2013, the segment’s loss at Rs (16.11) crore was almost half (50.44 per cent) of the loss of Rs (31.94) crore in Q3-2013.

NDTV’s TV business reported revenue of Rs 131.02 crore in Q3-2014, which was 21.97 per cent more than the Rs 107.42 crore in Q2-2014 and 0.7 per cent more than the Rs 130.11 crore in Q3-2013. During the nine month period of the current year, NDTV’s TV business reported revenue of Rs 341.03 crore, which was 0.22 per cent more than the Rs 340.27 crore in the corresponding period of last year. For FY 2013, the segment reported revenue of Rs 527 crore.

Let us look at the Q3-2014 figures reported by NDTV

NDTV reported consolidated Total operating revenue of Rs 127.43 crore, which was 20 per cent more than the Rs 106.19 crore in Q2-2014, but (2.06) per cent lower than the Rs 130.11 crore in Q3-2013. For the nine month period ended 31 December 2103, the company reported Total operating revenue of Rs 336.01 crore which was (1.25) per cent lower than the Rs 340.27 crore in the corresponding period of last year. For FY 2013, NDTV reported Total operating revenue of Rs 526.81 crore.

Total expense at Rs 133.17 crore for Q3-2014 was (0.31) per cent lower than the Rs 133.58 crore for Q2-2014 and 10.32 per cent more than the Rs 120.71 crore during Q3-2013. YTD, total expense at Rs 392.52 crore was 1.44 per cent more than the Rs 386.92 crore in the corresponding nine month period of last year. For FY 2013, NDTV’s total expense was Rs 547.83 crore.

NDTV spent 4.24 per cent more towards marketing, distribution and promotional expense in Q3-2014 at Rs 26.49 crore as compared to the Rs 25.43 crore in Q2-2014 and 16.54 per cent more than the Rs 22.73 crore during the corresponding quarter of last year. For the nine month period ended 31 December 2103, the company spent Rs 73.49 crore towards marketing, distribution and promotional expense, which was (17.08) per cent lower than the Rs 88.63 crore in the corresponding period of last year. During FY 2013, NDTV spent Rs 131.26 crore towards this head.

NDTV’s employee benefit at Rs 43.29 crore was (3.63) per cent lower than the Rs 44.92 crore in Q-2014 and 12.88 per cent more than the Rs 38.35 crore in Q3-2013. YTD, the company spent Rs 133.14 crore towards Employee benefit, which was 14.73 per cent more than the Rs 116.05 crore during the corresponding nine month period of last year. For FY 2013, NDTV spent Rs 157.41 per cent towards Employee benefit.

NDTV reported a consolidated loss of Rs (10.43) crore for Q3-2014, which was almost a third less (31.65 per cent less) than the loss of Rs (15.26) crore for Q2-2014. During Q3-2013, NDTV had reported a consolidated profit of Rs 14.87 crore. For the nine month period ended 31 December 2103, the segment reported a loss of Rs (49.75) crore, which was almost, double (1.92 times) the loss of Rs (25.88) crore in the corresponding period of last year. For FY 2013, NDTV reported a consolidated profit of Rs 1.91 crore.

NDTV’s Retail/ecommerce business, which commenced operations earlier this financial year, reported revenue of Rs 2.31 crore which was more than four times the Rs 0.52 crore revenue in the immediate trailing quarter. As mentioned above, this segment reported loss of Rs (5.38) crore in Q3-2014 as compared to a loss of Rs (3.37) crore in the immediate trailing quarter. The capital employed by this segment has eroded further to Rs (18.15) crore in Q3-2014 from the Rs (6.86) crore in Q2-2014.

During the quarter, NDTV Ethnic Retail Limited, a subsidiary of NDTV has acquired 100 per cent stake in JA Ethnic Retail Private Limited, with effect from 28 November, 2013 (acquisition date).

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