NDTV channels strengthen position; IPO opens today

For news channels NDTV 24X7 and NDTV India, the last one year has been spent in growing market share. The two completed a year of existence on April 14, 2004, and within its first year, the English news channel has emerged as a clear leader in its space, while its Hindi counterpart, though at No 2, still has some way to go before challenging leader, Aaj Tak.

The channel shares of NDTV 24X7 and NDTV India touched 42.2 per cent and 18.8 per cent for the week ending April 3, 2004 (source: TAM Media Research; English channel TG is C&S 4+, All India, and Hindi channel TG is C&S 4+, Hindi-speaking markets). English news channels BBC, CNBC-TV 18, CNN and Headlines Today notched up channel shares of 12.1 per cent, 30.3 per cent, 6.1 per cent and 9.1 per cent, respectively, while in the Hindi news broadcast segment, Aaj Tak stood at 30 per cent, STAR News at 17.2 per cent, ZEE News at 12.8 per cent, Sahara Samay at 10.7 per cent and DD News at 10.5 per cent, respectively.

In the following week (April 4-10, 2004), the scorecard of the NDTV bouquet of channels vis-à-vis the competition was as follows: NDTV 24X7 - 37.9 per cent, BBC - 24.1 per cent, CNBC-TV 18 - 20.7 per cent, CNN - 6.9 per cent and Headlines Today - 10.3 per cent; while among the Hindi news channels, Aaj Tak garnered 31.1 per cent, NDTV India - 20.1 per cent, STAR News - 15.9 per cent, ZEE News - 11.7 per cent, Sahara Samay - 9.5 per cent and DD News - 11.5 per cent, respectively.

The reach of the NDTV bouquet for the first two weeks of April was 14.5 per cent and 13.2 per cent (figures for the English channel), and 40.4 per cent and 38.6 per cent (figures for the Hindi channel) respectively. In comparison, in the Hindi news space, leader Aaj Tak was a point higher at 41.4 per cent and 39.7 per cent, while in the English news arena, STAR News stood at 32.1 per cent and 29.5 per cent, respectively. CNBC-TV18 and BBC had a reach of 6.2 per cent and 5.1 per cent (figures for CNBC), and 6.2 per cent and 6.5 per cent (figures for BBC), respectively.

If NDTV executives have reason to smile with regard to the performance of the two channels, a point worth noting is that the growth has happened at a net loss of Rs 47.37 crore in the first nine months of operation. Also worth noting is the fact that the number of advertisers on the two channels added up to a total of 249, while the brand count for the same period stood at 409.

NDTV is looking to raise Rs 109 crore through an initial public offer (IPO) which opens today, and among other plans, the company intends launching new channels "at an appropriate time", besides consolidating viewership of the existing news channels. © 2004 agencyfaqs!