News Broadcasting
V6 News set to launch Telugu GEC
MUMBAI: VIL Media Pvt Ltd-owned V6 News, a 24-hour Telugu satellite news broadcaster, is set to launch a general entertainment channel.
V6 News, launched in March 2012, managed to gain popularity among the audience in Hyderabad and Telangana market within a short span of time. Earlier, it was reported that Teenmaar news had become the most watched news program for the channel.
The network has executed a soft launch of its GEC, starting test transmission service on Intelsat17 satellite at 66.5 degree east. Indiantelevision.com has also learnt that V6 News’ GEC will be a free-to-air (FTA) channel.
In 2016, V66 News had asked Broadcast Audience Research Council India (BARC India) to suspend its ratings review for some weeks. The channel then temporarily suspended the review of its viewership owing to suspected mala fide practices.
Later in 2015, during week 31 to 34, the channel had scored an average of 192 GRPs against 172 GRPs clocked by its competitorTV9 in the Hyderabad market. V6 News was the fourth most watched Telugu news channel during the first 7 weeks of 2018 with 214,283 impressions. The network’s viewership seems to be growing with time, moving to rank 4 in week 5 and to rank 3 in weeks 6 and 7 of 2018.
Even in week 24, the channel garnered the third position with 22609 impressions, with TV9 Telugu being the leader with 34623 impressions and NTV Telugu securing second position with 28573 impressions.
Considering Star Maa, Zee Telugu, Gemini TV and ETV Telugu and among others are the players in the Telugu market that V6’s GEC will have to compete with, it would be interesting to note what the channel has in store for the audience in its bid to differentiate itself from the pack.
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News Broadcasting
Rajesh Sundaram joins NDTV Profit as senior editor, assignment
The 32-year newsroom veteran has launched channels on three continents and covered everything from 9/11 to South African television
MUMBAI: NDTV Profit has bolstered its newsroom with a hire who has done rather more than most. Rajesh Sundaram, a journalist with over three decades of editorial, managerial and consultative experience across India and international markets, joins as senior editor, assignment, tasked with sharpening the network’s newsgathering and real-time response.
Sundaram’s career reads like a tour of Indian media’s most formative moments. He began at Businessworld in 1994, moved to Zee News as bureau chief across Mumbai and Chennai, then joined NDTV in 2002 as part of its political bureau during a particularly febrile period in Indian politics. A stint as India correspondent for Al Jazeera International followed, where he covered key geopolitical developments and got his first serious taste of the global newsroom.
What sets Sundaram apart, however, is his serial channel-launching habit. At NewsX, he helped get the operation off the ground. At Headlines Today, part of the India Today Group, he served as editor. At News Nation, he helped launch the Hindi news channel and its digital ecosystem. He then crossed continents to lead the launch of ANN7 in South Africa as editor-in-chief, overseeing both television and digital. Back in India, he launched Tamil news channels News7 Tamil and Cauvery News, and later served as principal consultant for the launch of Marathi channel Lokshahi. Most recently, he helped build and lead the Press Trust of India’s video service and content studio, before stints consulting for Business Today and The Himalayan Times.
Rahul Kanwal, chief executive and editor-in-chief of NDTV, left little doubt about what Sundaram is expected to deliver. “The assignment desk is where a newsroom’s intent becomes action,” he said. “Rajesh brings a rare combination of field experience and leadership in building news operations at scale.”
Sundaram has reported from across India and the world, covering elections, civil conflicts, the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks and the 2008 US presidential election.
At NDTV Profit, he will lead the assignment desk, driving editorial coordination and real-time response across markets and breaking developments. For a business news network sharpening its focus on speed and multi-platform delivery, it has hired a man who has built newsrooms from scratch on three continents. The assignment desk is in good hands.
