'); document.write('

contentSutra
India’s Digital News Monitor

'); document.write('

TV18 Undertakes Major Restructuring; About 200 Staffers To Get Laid Off'); document.write('
posted on November 20, 2009 06:55:46 am'); document.write('

Television Eighteen is laying off 12% of its permanent staffers (about 200 people, according to a company source) as part of a major restructuring exercise which will see the operations of the company’s Hindi and English business news channels getting merged.

In a statement to the Bombay Stock Exchange, the company said it was merging “overlapping and common operations at the back-end” of CNBC TV18 and CNBC Awaaz. Both channels will continue to maintain separate identities, the company said. CNBC TV18 is the market leader in the English business news space.

'); document.write('
\'This Partnership Will Help Us Grow In The Lifestyle Space\': NDTV Networks\' Vikram Chandra'); document.write('
posted on November 19, 2009 11:09:26 am'); document.write('

NDTV Networks CEO Vikram Chandra, also a key anchor for the group’s news channels, spoke to contentSutra from New York shortly after his company’s strategic partnership with Scripps was announced. Excerpts:

Congrats on the deal. What next for the company?

Thanks. This is a very exciting partnership for us. Scripps is the world leader in lifestyle programming and they have many successful properties. NDTV is the leader in this space in India and with this partnership, I think we should be able to do accelerate our growth in this genre.
'); document.write('
Scripps Networks Acquires 69 Percent Stake In NDTV Lifestyle For $55 Million'); document.write('
posted on November 19, 2009 12:05:32 pm'); document.write('

Indian broadcaster NDTV Ltd and US-based Scripps Network Interactive today said they were forming a strategic alliance in the lifestyle broadcasting space in India.

As part of the deal, Scripps will acquire 69 percent stake in NDTV Lifestyle Ltd, with the NDTV Group retaining the rest. Scripps will pay $55 million for the holding, which values the one-channel company at $79 million. The company currently broadcasts lifestyle channel NDTV Goodtimes. The companies propose to launch more channels under the joint venture, they said in a statement.

We reported in September that Scripps and NDTV were in talks for a strategic partnership.

'); document.write('
Corrected: AOL International Cuts Coming But Looking For Partners; ICQ For Sale'); document.write('
posted on November 19, 2009 01:42:23 pm'); document.write('

AOL (NYSE: TWX) CEO Tim Armstrong did a hurried Q&A session at the Paley Center this afternoon ~~and then had to rush off to being the IPO roadshow, which starts tonight here in Manhattan, presumably at some glitzy event here in the city~~. (Ed. note: The road show actually starts Nov. 19; the headline also has been corrected..) He didn’t say anything he hasn’t before, but hinted at some contraction in the international market, at least in terms of direct presence. he said AOL is in about 40 countries now, but in 2010 would probably be in less markets directly; as a result, it is looking for local international partnerships, he said. Left unsaid: the big upcoming AOL cuts would also likely include international, presumably.

Update: Now Kara is reporting that ICQ, the highly popular instant messaging platform, is for sale. One guess on a possible buyer: South African media giant Naspers, which has been buying up international digital properties across Europe and Asia, and owns a stake in the biggest Chinese IM platform Tencent as well.
'); document.write('
Internet Users In India Grow 17% Y-o-Y To 35.8 Million; Growth Rate Lower Than Asia-Pac Average'); document.write('
posted on November 18, 2009 08:23:38 am'); document.write('

In September, India had 35.8 million Internet users (excluding visits from net cafes and handhelds), up 17% year-on-year, according to web metrics firm comScore. India’s growth rate is the third highest in the Asia Pacific region, China and Japan surpassing the country both in absolute number of users and in growth rates.
'); document.write('
HT Media Demerges Hindi Business; Unlocking Value In Growing Regional Print Media'); document.write('
posted on November 18, 2009 07:08:48 am'); document.write('

HT Media Ltd, publisher of newspapers such as Hindustan Times, Hindustan and Mint, has decided to demerge its Hindi business. HT Media will transfer Hindi daily Hindustan, magazines Nandan and Kadambini, internet portals of these publications as well as all employees, assets and liabilities to Hindustan Media Ventures Ltd for a consideration of Rs149 crore. HT Media owns 99.3% of Hindustan Media Ventures. All relevant IPR and brands can be used by the subsidiary on a long-term lease basis and it will also have the right of first refusal on these properties in case of a sale.
'); document.write('
Prem Panicker, One Of Rediff\'s Earliest Employees, Leaving To Join Yahoo India As Managing Editor'); document.write('
posted on November 17, 2009 10:24:01 am'); document.write('

Well-known cricket writer Prem Panicker, one of Rediff.com’s earliest staffers and the editorial director of the company’s US-based newspaper India Abroad, is leaving the Nasdaq-listed firm after a 14-year stint, a person familiar with the development said. According to our source, Panicker is likely to join Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO) India as managing editor, a post that has been vacant for a long time now.

Panicker declined to comment for this story. A Yahoo India spokesperson also declined to comment.

Panicker is currently based in Mumbai. Yahoo India’s editorial operations are based out of Bangalore.

'); document.write('
Nachiket Pantvaidya To Become MD At Fox TV Studios India'); document.write('
posted on November 14, 2009 06:15:55 am'); document.write('

Fox Television Studios India is hiring Nachiket Pantvaidya as managing director, a person familiar with the development said. An announcement is expected soon.

Fox Television Studios is the TV production unit of News Corp.‘s Fox Entertainment Group, and is a leading producer of TV shows globally, alongside companies such as Mediaset-controlled Endemol and Bertelsmann AG’s Fremantle Media. Endemol has had a good run in India, with shows such as Bigg Boss, while Fremantle recently said it is setting up shop in India.

News Corp.-owned Star India is the country’s leading private broadcaster.

'); document.write('
Korea\'s GS Home Shopping Invests $18.5 Million In HomeShop18, Valuing The Firm At $123 Million'); document.write('
posted on November 14, 2009 05:46:34 am'); document.write('

South Korea’s GS Home Shopping, the world’s third largest home shopping network (as per this release), will invest $18.5 million in HomeShop18, a Network18 subsidiary. GS will hold 15% stake in the company post the investment. Parent Network18 will invest $5 million and will continue to be a majority shareholder with a 51% stake post dilution. GS’ investment values HomeShop18 at $123 million.

Saif Partners holds a 30% stake in the company.

The partnership also entails strategic cooperation in the areas of sourcing, merchandising, broadcasting and logistics. GS will post key employees at HomeShop18 and will also train HS employees in Korea.

Another South Korean network, CJ Home Shopping, had forged a JV with Star India for a home shopping channel. It is yet to go on air.
'); document.write('
PVR Buys DLF\'s DT Cinema For Rs52 Crore In Stock & Cash; Separate Stake Sale To Thailand Firm'); document.write('
posted on November 14, 2009 05:20:55 am'); document.write('

Multiplex chain PVR Ltd is buying realty major DLF Ltd’s cinema chain DT Cinemas, which currently runs 26 screens in Delhi, Gurgaon and Chandigarh. PVR will also get exclusive rights to be the key multiplex partner in all future developments by DLF.

'); document.write('
Rohit Bansal Steps Down As COO At India TV'); document.write('
posted on November 13, 2009 02:23:22 pm'); document.write('

Rohit Bansal, COO at Independent News Service Pvt. Ltd, which runs India TV, has stepped down. Bansal, who has worked at the firm for five years since 2004, has been active in the broadcast policy circles and was a familiar face at industry gatherings. Bansal confirmed the development. August 31 was his last day at the channel.
'); document.write('
Subhash Chandra Assumes An Active Role In DNA\'s Operations; Delhi Edition Soon?'); document.write('
posted on November 12, 2009 09:35:36 am'); document.write('

Essel Group chairman Subhash Chandra, part-owner of Mumbai-headquartered broadsheet Daily News and Analysis, or DNA, has assumed an “active role” in the day-to-day operations of the paper, a person close to the developments said. Chandra, through an investment arm, controls a 49% stake in DNA’s publisher Diligent Media Corp., with the Dainik Bhaskar group and one of its promoters holding the rest. Chandra is co-chairman on the board of Diligent Media. Thus far, however, the company’s MD, Sudhir Agarwal, was looking into the paper’s day-to-day affairs representing the promoter group. Agarwal belongs to the family that owns Dainik Bhaskar and is the MD of that paper as well.
'); document.write('
Govt Announces HITS Policy; Foreign Investment Upto 74% Allowed'); document.write('
posted on November 12, 2009 05:24:53 am'); document.write('

The Union Cabinet today approved information and broadcasting ministry’s guidelines on Headend In The Sky (HITS), a technology that enables satellite transmission of digital broadcasting signals. Unlike DTH, or direct-to-home technology, HITS requires last mile cable operators to receive signals and transmit it via cable to the consumer’s home. However, unlike cable, the last mile cable operator does not need to install an expensive headend, or elaborate infrastructure to receive, decode, amplify and transmit TV signals. This can potentially result in lower price for the end consumer.

'); document.write('
NDTV Imagine EVP Harsh Rohatgi Leaving To Join National Geographic Channel As MD'); document.write('
posted on November 11, 2009 10:59:39 am'); document.write('

Harsh Rohatgi, executive vice president at NDTV Imagine, is leaving the company to join National Geographic Channel as MD, a person familiar with the development said. Rohatgi denied he was leaving Imagine.

Rohatgi spent seven years at Star India and was GM and senior VP, content and communication, prior to joining NDTV Imagine in 2007. His departure from Imagine, where he is a key member of the management team, is panning out even as the channel is just days away from signing a majority stake sale agreement with Turner Broadcasting.
'); document.write('
Well Known Sports Journalist Ayaz Memon Quits DNA As Editor At Large'); document.write('
posted on November 12, 2009 01:56:54 am'); document.write('

Noted cricket journalist Ayaz Memon has quit DNA newspaper, where he has been working since 2005. He was editor-at-large at the paper run by a JV between Subhash Chandra’s Essel Group and the Dainik Bhaskar Group. Memon has been part of the senior leadership of the paper since its launch, writes a weekly column for the paper, and is easily one of the most recognized bylines in the daily’s ranks.

Memon confirmed the development, but declined to comment further.
'); document.write('
M&E At The WEF India Economic Summit: Room For Growth, Monetization Challenges, Protectionist Voices'); document.write('
posted on November 12, 2009 01:58:36 am'); document.write('

Four themes more or less dominated an interesting panel discussion on media and entertainment at the India Economic Summit of the World Economic Forum yesterday.

1) India is underadvertised. The country’s ad spends to GDP ratio is 0.55, while the global average is 0.86 and in the US, it’s 1.18 (Source: FICCI-KPMG media report 2009). WPP Group’s country manager Ranjan Kapur attributed such low ad spends to the domination of the services sector in India’s GDP. “About 53% of the GDP is now from the services sector, which is notorious for not needing advertising,” Kapur said, adding, “the good news is that manufacturing is growing”.

'); document.write('
News Roundup: Cable Licensing In Haryana; Times Group Videos On Vuclip; Barkha Dutt Domain Dispute'); document.write('
posted on November 10, 2009 11:17:43 am'); document.write('

The Haryana government is planning to auction rights to run cable services in the state, Business Standard reports. The move might lead to a legal standoff as existing cable operators are likely to challenge the decision. The state has about 1,000 cable operators and 300 multi system operators. The unorganized network of cable operators is one of the biggest challenges in monetizing television content in India. They routinely underdeclare subscriber numbers, leading to loss of revenue for broadcasters as well as tax revenue for the state.

'); document.write('
Zed-Tanla JV Hires Pancham Endlaw As Country Manager'); document.write('
posted on November 12, 2009 01:57:54 am'); document.write('

TZ Mobile Pvt Ltd, a joint venture between Spain’s mobile content firm Zed and Hyderabad-based telecom software producer Tanla Solutions, has hired Pancham Endlaw as country manager. Endlaw confirmed the development.

Prior to this, Endlaw was VP for digital and interactive at INX Media, the firm that broadcasts the channels 9X and 9X Music. He has also worked at Airtel and Indiatimes.

'); document.write('
Google To Acquire Mobile Ad Network AdMob For $750 Million In Stock'); document.write('
posted on November 10, 2009 10:02:04 am'); document.write('

Google (NSDQ: GOOG) has agreed to acquire AdMob, a mobile ad network, for $750 million in stock. Release.

At that jaw-dropping price, it marks Google’s third-largest acquisition after DoubleClick and YouTube and is a very solid exit for AdMob and its investors, which have pumped in $47 million into the business. But perhaps more importantly, the acquisition also lends credibility to the struggling mobile advertising space, which is always being characterized as being around the corner from taking off. In a blog post, Google’s VP of Product Management Susan Wojcicki writes: “Despite the tremendous growth in mobile usage and the substantial investment by many businesses in the space, the mobile web is still in its early stages. We believe that great mobile advertising products can encourage even more growth in the mobile ecosystem. That’s what has us excited about this deal.”
'); document.write('
I&B Ministry Proposes Higher FDI, News In FM Radio; Phase III Licensing Soon'); document.write('
posted on November 12, 2009 02:15:22 am'); document.write('

The ministry of information and broadcasting has floated a cabinet note on the fledgeling FM radio sector, recommending an increase in foreign direct investment limit and allowing news on the radio waves. I&B minister Ambika Soni, speaking at the World Economic Forum’s India Economic Summit this evening, said the proposal was to allow news sourced from state-run Akashvani and to hike the FDI cap to 26% from the current 20%. The note is currently doing the rounds of other ministries and will be presented to the cabinet as a proposal after the consultative process, the minister said. The third phase of FM Radio licensing is expected to happen by early 2010 and by then these modifications in policy are expected to come through, the minister added.

'); document.write('