NDTV to venture into non-news segment

NDTV (New Delhi Television), which was known for its news content till now, is planning to venture into non-news content. It may soon launch a mass entertainment Hindi channel. 

Briefing the press on Tuesday evening in Delhi, Prannoy Roy, chairman, NDTV, said that it was logical for the company to get into this space as Hindi mass entertainment is the highest revenue generator and also the least cluttered segment. Roy was quite definite that NDTV’s entertainment channel would be a class apart from the other channels in the genre. 

As a first step towards entering the non-news segment, NDTV announced the formation of a new company, NDTV Ventures, which will be a 100 per cent subsidiary of the parent company.  

Roy said that the idea was to have two clearly demarcated, yet focused, verticals to dole out the best content in specific genres, while following the legal and regulatory norms. 

The new company, which will be funded initially through private equity (an IPO could follow in the second stage), will branch out into the entertainment and lifestyle segments and further strengthen the company’s presence in new media. 

Besides, NDTV plans to launch another entertainment and lifestyle channel.  

As of now, NDTV plans to use its in-house talent, many of whom already specialise in these genres. The company claims to have over 3,50,000 man hours of experience.  

In the news segment, NDTV’s expansion plans include regional business news channels and city specific general English news channels. 

The city specific English news channels will be launched through partnership/JV arrangements. NDTV will begin with the four major metros and later enter other cities.  

Roy said, “The US has 320 city specific channels, but India has a long way to go in this segment.”  

“The objective is to capture the retail boom, which is a sheer waste of airtime by national channels,” he added.  

In international diversification, the plan is to launch NDTV Profit Overseas, which will cover international business news and cater to an international audience. In addition, NDTV plans to launch general news channels in Malaysia early in 2007, which will be followed by a channel each in Indonesia and the Middle East. 

NDTV also plans to continue with its growth plans in the new media section. It had a launched MPO, NGEN in association with Genpact. The company is equally serious about its tie-up with MSN India, which launched MSN Desktop TV.  

The media group’s news portal claims to be the fourth largest portal in India with 25 million page views per month. 

NDTV Labs has a stronghold in the technology, software and communication marketing areas. Software products are developed in-house at NDTV, which has converted its first sale. The market size here is to the tune of $600 million. Roy plans to make a clear stronghold here for drawing sizeable revenue. 

At the press meet, NDTV also announced its financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2006. The company claims to have achieved a 27 per cent year-on-year growth in revenue for the same period with a net profit of Rs 3.7 crore. The revenue has scaled up from Rs 54.5 crore as compared to Rs 43 crore in the same quarter last year. The company defines new business initiatives to drive in revenues at the rate of a 30-35 per cent growth rate. For the same, operating losses to the tune of Rs 3.3 crore have been borne. 

The company foresees revenue of $500 million in the next five years. It now plans to enhance its network with global reach and to be known as a global Indian media brand. 

© 2006 agencyfaqs!