News Broadcasting
TVTN IPO ends, oversubscribed 36.26 times
NEW DELHI: TV Today Network Limited (TVTN), India’s leading news broadcaster controlling Aaj tak and Headlines Today channels, concluded its IPO on 27 December with the offering being subscribed 36.26 times at a price of Rs. 95 per share.
TVTN had announced a price band of Rs. 80 to Rs. 95 (face value of Rs. five each) for its maiden offering of 14,500,000 shares through the book-building route. In total, the issue mopped up Rs 49000 million as a result of the over-susbcription. Part of this has to be returned to the people who would finally not be allotted shares.
The issue constituted 25 per cent of the fully diluted post issue paid-up capital of the Company. The issue opened on 18 December 2003. The shares will list on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange of India next month when the debuting bell will be rung.
According to a company statement, a key highlight of the IPO is that the company has successfully garnered the response from only the domestic investors, which consisted of qualified institutional investors, high net worth individuals and the retail public.
Keeping in mind the strong response that the IPO received from retail investors, TVTN has decided to allocate 30 per cent of the offering to the retail investors category, 25 per cent for the non-institutional investors category and the balance 45 per cent to the qualified institutional investors category.
The issue has been managed by JM Morgan Stanley Pvt. Ltd. as the Book Running Lead Manager, while Kotak Mahindra Capital Company Limited and ICICI Securities Limited were the Co-Book Running Lead Managers.
TV Today Network was the first broadcaster to uplink a 24-hour Hindi news channel from India. It launched Aaj Tak in December 2000. This was followed by the launch of Headlines Today, a 24-hour English news channel in March 2003. With viewership of approximately 22.7 million viewers, as per TAM viewership data for week ended 15 November 2003, it has effectively created a platform of a large audience for the advertisers to reach their target grouop.
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.
