News Broadcasting
Viacom’s Q2 operating income up 10%
MUMBAI: Media conglomerate Viacom, which owns MTV, Nickelodeon and Paramount, among other entities, has reported its results for the second quarter ended 30 June 2004.
Viacom’s second quarter results were led by double-digit revenue and operating income increases in the company’s cable networks and television segments, as
well as revenue growth in every business segment.
For the second quarter of 2004, Viacom reported operating income of $1.4 billion. This marked an increase of 10 per cent from $1.3 billion for the same quarter last year. It also announced a 7 per cent revenue increase to $6.8 billion from $6.4 billion for the same quarter last year.
Operating income gains were led by increases of 23 per cent in Cable Networks and 35 per cent in Television. Advertising revenues went up by 11 per cent. For the six months ended 30 June 2004 operating income increased by 14 per cent to $2.6 billion from $2.3 billion
The company continues to believe it is on track to deliver full year revenue growth of 5 per cent.
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.
