BloombergQuint's broadcast license pending; "terminates" TV division

BloombergQuint(BQ) a joint venture between Raghav Bahl's Quintillion Media and Bloomberg Media Group has announced that it will terminate its TV division. BloombergQuint's content is based on the Indian economy, international finance, corporate law & governance and business news. The TV division employed a workforce of more than 100 employees and most of them might lose their jobs. Raghav Bahl's Quintillion Media owns 74 per cent stake in the joint-venture which issued a statement announcing the termination yesterday.

The statement reads, "BQ will be terminating its television division as its broadcast license remains pending. BloombergQuint will now concentrate all its resources in building upon the early success of its award-winning premium digital subscription service, BloombergQuint.com, which is a market leader in India in the business news space."

The joint venture had plans to launch a TV channel for which it built a team, but it could not procure broadcasting license from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

In its statement, BloombergQuint announced that "It was refocusing its strategy towards a digital operation." BloombergQuint operates BQ Blue, a subscription-based web publication that claims its pride on, "Accurate, in-depth, timely and actionable insights - an outcome of years of journalistic experience and hours of research."

The publication charges Rs 699 for a monthly subscription, Rs 2999 for its yearly package and Rs 4999 for 24 months.