M.Narasingh Rao
Suddenly the excitement in the Indian Television industry hinges around business news , as a host of business channels are being launched. The battle for eyeballs in the business news television business has already began. The warriors in the battlefield includes Zee’s business channel and CNBC TV 18 till date, but new players like NDTV, Bennett, Coleman & Co, TV Today, Videocon and a Hindi business channel from TV18 are set to join battle.
Zee has already launched its hindi business channel, called Zee Business without any fuss. It Positioned as a personal finance channel, Zee Business offers coverage on the stock markets, commodity markets and
The Raghav Bahl promoted CNBC TV18, which runs
Likewise NDTV Profit is the name the Prannoy Roy promoted New Delhi Television Ltd has almost set for it’s proposed 24-hour business channels, and barring any last minute hitch, the channel will soon beaming into Indian homes from 17th January 2005, when profit will have it’s formal launch.
Videocon’s Venugopal Dhoot is also planning to enter the TV sector, in first quarter of the current year by launching a Hindi business channel. TV Today and Star News also planning a plunge to taste the water.
The question arises can so many business channels can survive? Can the market absorb this sudden rush of business channels?
According to "The Hindu Business Line" the market for news channels is estimated to be at Rs 500 crore and is growing at about 20 per cent. The market has just expanded from about Rs 100 crore to roughly Rs 350 crore over the last two years.
So where will the new channels fit in? Can they survive? The verdict ranges from positive to negative.
In March 2004, CNBC-TV 18 turned profitable after four years of struggle. According to data available in it’s web site, It is aiming for Rs 70 crore in revenues by March 2005, which is more than the total market for business magazines. In many ways, CNBC`s breaking even has been a trigger for other players like NDTV and The Times group to launch business channels. They believe that the business of business news has revenue potential.
Another thing is that the investments required for a business news channel is lower than a general news channel as most of these are studio-based shows. The cost of production is, hencemuch lower, and the break-even point will stands at low level. Hence profitability seems bright, says industry sources. The thinking is that if Four premium business newspapers can find readers and advertisers, three to four business news channels can do so too.
Business newspapers in the country enjoys a more comfortable place and share revenue as the market is expanding with globalisation of the Indian industry and economy. The four major business newspapers in the country together garnered Rs 340 crore revenue in the last financial year. In the previous year it stood at Rs 290 crore, according to a report on the Business Standard website dated
Whereas the country’s sole business news channel, CNBC TV 18, is not making huge profit. The financial data available in it’s website clearly shows that the company, after four year of struggle earned a negligible profit of Rs 14.35 crore as advertising revenue, thus made a profit of Rs 2.20 crore, after tax during the first quarter of this financial year ended 30.06.04. With more channels coming in, the advertising and viewership pie will expand automatically .Currently, there is only major player which enjoys market share so the market is not expanding that fast. Advertising revenue will increase to accommodate all the players.
The Operational Manager of Marketing, of one of the news channels based in
The chief of bureau of a reputed business newspaper working in
The business news channels could see an increase in competition from both national and regional news channels. To retain the first mover’s advantage they have to make substantial investments to develop original and interesting programming.
As the country’s economy and business are integrating fast with the world economy and as the Indian economy is moving towards becoming a knowledge economy, there is little doubt that business of business news has great potential to exploit the market. But will it be boom time in business for all the new players or will some fall by the wayside? Only time will tell.
Contact: ssass_narasingh@indiatimes.com