UTVi rolls out a business show that revels in little known figures

The business news channel, UTVi, has come out with a new show called India's Best Kept Secrets. The show promises to unearth hidden facts and figures, bringing out the success stories of some of the private unlisted companies of India.

India's Best Kept Secrets focuses on the revenue, profitability and other less known but related facts about these organisations to chart the process or systems responsible for making a company successful.

Speaking to afaqs!, Govindraj Ethiraj, editor in chief, UTVi, says, "The new show takes forward the broader philosophy of the channel – to establish the fact that business has more aspects other than listed companies. The idea is to bring forward the lesser known enterprises in the public domain."

The first episode of the show was aired on August 26 and featured a Tata company. The investigation by the UTVi journalists revealed that this company is probably one of the most highly valued, unlisted companies in India. Figures obtained by the channel show that in the financial year, 2007-08, the organisation had a total income of more than Rs 3,800 crore, with a net profit of Rs 3,300 crore. Its accumulated reserves stood at Rs 12,000 crore. The show aims to dig out such facts and figures to highlight the profiles of highly profitable and successful firms and organisations.

Commenting on the USP of the show, Ethiraj says, "The concept of the show allows us to look at companies that have strong finances with healthy balance sheets. The idea is to use figures to present unknown, but interesting facts to the viewers. For example, worldwide, PepsiCo earns more from its beverage drinks business, but in India, the reverse is true. Here, PepsiCo's food business (with popular brands such as Kurkure) earns more bucks than the drinks business."

The channel has taken care to pick only familiar and recognisable brands to ensure a consumer connect. Coming episodes feature a publishing house and a consumer durables venture. The channel has also made attempts to feature companies representing different industries. Ethiraj reveals that prominent brands covered in the show include Pepsi, Accenture and Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd.

Arun Anandagiri, assistant editor, UTVi, is the investigator and anchor of the show. Under a content sharing tieup with Business Standard, the showcased companies or brands will also feature in a dedicated, detailed story in the newspaper.

Sumit Gupta, chief operating officer, UTVi, says in an official communiqué, "The challenge before UTVi is to redefine the business news segment and to take business news reporting to the next level. The new show is an effort in this direction and proves that as an organisation, we are steadily getting there."