News Broadcasting
TV Today board recommends final 45% dividend for FY 2020
BENGALURU: TV Today Network Limited (TVTN) reported 15.5 per cent and 6.3 per cent growth in consolidated revenue from operations (Op Rev) and consolidated profit after tax (PAT) respectively for the year ended 31 March 2020 (FY 2020, year or period under review) as compared to the previous year ago (FY 2019). Consolidated simple operating EBIDTA for the year under review increased 8.2 per cent as compared to FY 2019.
TVTN reported consolidated Op Rev of Rs 857.22 crore and Rs 742.24 crore for FY 2020 and FY 2019 respectively. Total Income for FY 2020 increased 15.6 per cent to Rs 900.53 from Rs 778.92 crore in FY 2019. Consolidated PAT for FY 2020 was Rs 139.36 crore as compared to Rs 131.10 crore in FY 2019. Consolidated simple operating EBIDTA for FY 2020 was Rs 215.95 crore (25.2 per cent of Op Rev) as compared to Rs 199.58 crore (26.9 per cent of Op Rev) in FY 2019.
The board of directors of TVTN recommended a final dividend of Rs 2.25 (45 per cent) per equity share of Rs 5 each for FY 2020. The parent company of the group had earlier paid an interim dividend of Rs 20 per equity share on October 22, 2019. The total dividend for the financial year 2019-20 amounts to Rs 22.25 or 445 per cent per equity share of Rs. 5 each.
Segment revenue
TVTN has four segments: television broadcasting (TV); radio broadcasting (radio); others; and newspaper publishing. TV and other segments reported growth in revenue and operating results, while radio and newspaper publishing segments had decline in revenue and the company reported operating losses from these segments.
TV segment operating revenue grew 14.4 per cent to Rs 698.96 crore in FY 2020 from Rs 611.15 crore in FY 2019. The segment’s operating result was flat in the period under review at Rs180.81 crore as compared to Rs 180.82 crore in the previous year.
Radio segment operating revenue declined 36.2 per cent in FY 2020 to Rs 14.86 crore from Rs 23.30 crore in FY 2019. Radio operating result was a higher loss of Rs 14 crore in FY 2020 as compared to a loss of Rs 4.74 crore in FY 2019.
Others segment had operating revenue of Rs 115.73 crore in FY 2020 which was 45.3 per cent higher than the Rs 79.63 crore in the previous year. Others segment operating result at Rs 23.03 crore in FY 2020 was more than twice (grew by 115.3 per cent) from Rs 10.69 crore in FY 2019
Newspaper publishing business operating revenue declined 1.6 per cent to 28.87 5.74 crore in FY 2020 from Rs 29.30 crore in FY 2019. The company reported operating result of Rs 0.37 crore in FY 2020 as compared to a loss of Rs 2.53 crore in FY 2019.
Let us look at the other numbers reported by the company for FY 2020
TVTN reported consolidated total expenditure of Rs 682.60 crore for FY 2020 which was 18.7 per cent higher than the Rs 574.99 crore in FY 2019. Consolidated cost of materials consumed during the period under review was 23.6 per cent lower in FY 2020 at Rs 2.48 crore as compared to Rs 3.25 crore in FY 2019. Consolidated production cost in FY 2020 increased 16.1 per cent to Rs 91.96 crore from Rs 79.24 crore in the previous fiscal. Consolidated Employee Benefit Expenses in FY 2020 increased 12.7 per cent in FY 2020 to Rs 251.07 crore from Rs 222.69 crore in the previous year. Consolidated Finance costs increased by 243.7 per cent in FY 2020 to Rs 2.83 crore from Rs 0.82 crore in the previous year. Consolidated other expenses increased 24.5 per cent during the year under review to Rs 295.78 crore from Rs 237.48 crore in FY 2019.
News Broadcasting
News TV viewership jumps 33 per cent as West Asia war draws audiences
BARC Week 8 data shows news share rising to 8 per cent despite T20 World Cup
NEW DELHI:Â Even as individual television news channel ratings remain under a temporary pause, the genre itself is seeing a clear surge in audience attention.
According to the latest data from Broadcast Audience Research Council India, television news recorded a 33 per cent jump in genre share in Week 8 of 2026, covering February 28 to March 6.
The news genre accounted for 8 per cent of total television viewership during the week, up from 6 per cent the previous week. The spike in attention coincided with escalating geopolitical tensions involving the United States, Israel and Iran, which have kept global headlines firmly fixed on West Asia.
The rise is notable because it came at a time when cricket was dominating television screens. The high-stakes stages of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, including the Super 8 fixtures and semi-finals, were being broadcast during the same period.
Despite the cricket frenzy, viewers appeared to be toggling between sport and global affairs, boosting the overall share of news programming.
The surge in genre share comes even as the government has enforced a one-month pause on publishing ratings for individual news channels. The move followed regulatory scrutiny of the television ratings ecosystem.
While channel-level rankings remain temporarily out of sight, the genre-level data suggests that when global tensions escalate, audiences continue to turn to television news for real-time updates.
