News Broadcasting
Only $84 m. in revenues last fiscal, but Dasgupta confident SET will net profits this year
NEW DELHI: Striking a bullish note, Sony Entertainment Television (SET) India feels it will make profits after tax (PAT) at the end of the current financial year ending 31 March, 2003. The company netted revenues of about $ 84 million in the last fiscal.
“We expect to make a profit (after tax) this year,” SET India Pvt Ltd chief executive Kunal Dasgupta said on the sidelines of a press conference organised by SET to announce four new programmes, including the Madhuri Dixit-hosted marriage-related reality show Kahin Naa Kahin Koi Hai.
According to Dasgupta, SET India netted advertising revenues of about $ 74 million in the last financial year, with approximately $ 10 million coming in as subcription revenues.
Though Dasgupta did not give out the details of the targets for the company this year, he admitted that for his ad sales and marketing team, the target is to get 40 per cent of the ad budget for TV from each advertiser.
“We have two strong channels, SET MAX and Sony and air the best of movies, serials and now an Indian reality show too. Our aim should be to get 40 per cent of the budget of every big advertiser which it has earmarked as TV spend,” Dasgupta said.
SET India, is expecting that new programmes, specially the Dixit-hosted show, will do for the company what KBC and few “saas-bahu kahanis” did for Star Plus and Star India.
Queried on how SET India plans to market the cricket rights that it has obtained, Dasgupta gave a cautious reply: “Wait and watch.”
However, when queried whether implementation of the conditional access system will hamper SET India’s revenue prospects, Dasgupta said, “I don’t think by the time next cricket World Cup is played CAS would be in place. That is why I don’t think our marketing of cricket will run into any problems.”
The goal for Sony Discovery Pvt Ltd, the distribution joint venture between SET and Discovery, is to up the susbcription revenues so that 25 per cent of the total revenues of SET come from subscription.
News Broadcasting
News18 India to air Sabse Bada Dangal on 4 May counting day
Channel promises fastest results, live trends and analysis across five states.
MUMBAI: Ballots will do the talking and screens will do the shouting. As counting day approaches for high-stakes Assembly elections across West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and Puducherry, News18 India is gearing up for an all-day broadcast of its flagship election show, Sabse Bada Dangal, on 4 May from 6 am onwards. The Hindi news channel plans to deliver continuous, real-time updates as votes are tallied, combining live counting data with on-ground reporting and studio analysis. With political fortunes set to shift through the day, the coverage will track every swing, surge and surprise as trends turn into results.
The broadcast will feature a mix of senior political leaders, analysts and experts, offering instant reactions and decoding the evolving electoral picture. Expect heated debates, quick takes and detailed breakdowns as the numbers settle across all five states.
For News18 India, counting day has long been a high-visibility moment. The network is banking on its reporting reach, editorial bandwidth and technology-driven coverage to stay ahead in what is often a fiercely competitive news cycle.
With multiple battlegrounds and shifting narratives, the day promises both drama and data in equal measure. And if all goes to plan, Sabse Bada Dangal will once again turn the counting of votes into prime-time spectacle.
