News Broadcasting
Television Media Segment leads NDTV’s loss in Q2-2015
MUMBAI: Announcing the current quarter results (Q2-2014), news broadcaster NDTV reported a net loss of Rs 26.89 crore. The loss for the company for the quarter had widened from Rs 1.49 crore in the preceding quarter (Q1-2014) and Rs 15.26 crore in the corresponding quarter last year (Q2-2013).
But the loss before tax for the HY-2014 has decreased to Rs 26.05 crore from Rs 33.56 crore in HY-2013.
The loss for the company for this current quarter is led by its television media and related operations segment. The segment reported a loss of Rs 15.22 crore in Q2-2014 as compared to a profit of Rs 7.95 crore in Q1-2014 and loss of Rs 1.98 crore in Q2-2013. Half yearly, the segment also reported a decline in loss. In HY-2014 (first half of 2014), the loss for the segment was reported as Rs 7.27 crore as compared to Rs 19.38 crore in the first half last year (HY-2013).
In the current quarter, the company also reported a fall in its Total Income from Operations (TIO) on a q-o-q basis contributing to its widening loss in the current quarter. TIO in Q2-2014 was Rs 110.38 crore, 25.12 per cent less than Rs 147.42 crore in the last quarter while the company reported a 3.9 per cent rise in its TIO at Rs 106.19 crore on a y-o-y basis.
In H1-2014, NDTV’s TIO at Rs 257.80 crore was 23.5 per cent more than Rs 208.59 crore in HY-2013, explaining the contraction in the HY-2014 loss.
The revenue on television media and related operations segment decreased 24.4 per cent q-o-q, from Rs 143.96 crore in Q1-2014 to Rs 108.83 crore in Q2-2014, another factor in the widening loss in Q2-2014. The revenue for the segment was almost flat (1.3 percent rise) at Rs 1.7.42 crore in Q2-2013.
In HY-2014 the revenue for the segment at Rs 252.79 crore was 20.37 per cent more than Rs 210.01 crore in HY-2013, another element in the reduction in the HY-2014 loss while the Q2-2014 loss had expanded.
Total expenses for the company in Q2-2014 was reported at Rs 132.43 crore, 10.6 per cent less than the Rs 148.18 crore in Q1-2014 and 2.3 per cent lower than Rs 135.58 crore in Q2-2013.
NDTV’s production expenses decreased 40.9 per cent from Rs 36.67 crore in Q1-2014 to Rs 21.64 crore in Q2-2014 and 5.2 percent from Rs 22.84 crore in Q2-2013.
According to the company statement, NDTV Convergence showed revenue growth of 22% in this quarter and a growth of 34% for H1-2014 on a y-o-y basis.
Also, NDTV Profit / Prime achieved a major turnaround by turning EBITDA positive in Q2 FY15, within six months of its re-launch, added the statement.
The company also announced on BSE that the board had ‘mandated the management to focus’ on the following: accelerate growth in core business; fix, restructure or sell non-core businesses; further invest in online assets to accelerate the Company’s leadership position to benefit from the digital revolution and explore all options to unlock and maximise shareholders’ value.
“NDTV’s losses are lower in the first half of this year than in the previous year and are narrowing down over time. A major step forward is that NDTV Profit / Prime was EBITDA positive this quarter (this is after making losses of Rs 40+ crore last year and losses in earlier years too). This will help the company to move towards profitability. Further, profitability can also be achieved by restructuring of businesses or selling of loss-making units while ensuring a hard focus on the core business,” said the company in a statement.
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.
