The Road to becoming India’s Number One Media Company; NDTV’s Success Story
Have you ever had such a strong feeling after watching a particular television of news element or even an advertisement? There is no question that the media has the power to influence your beliefs. This is where NDTV is moving ahead.
Thanks to the development of newspapers, movies, radios, television, and other forms of media, we may now live a life that is not only devoted to going to work and working. These are the key elements that give the mass media industry its allure.
The media enhances society’s individuality. These days, a career in the media is thought to be the best among all possible fields. As a result, the mass media industry has grown in popularity over time.
We’re very certain you’ve already heard of the NDTV news station, which stands for New Delhi Television Ltd. The journalist duo Prannoy Lal Roy and Radhika Roy launched the news channel in 1984.
It is an Indian news organisation with a focus on online and television news. The company is also creating news because Gautam Adani, the richest man in India, is buying it for his Adani group.
We summarise NDTV’s success story in this piece. Learn about the founding of NDTV in 1984, its brief history, its channels and subsidiaries, the problems and conflicts encountered, mergers and acquisitions, and more.
What Is NDTV and How Does It Operate?
New Delhi Television Ltd. is an Indian news media company that focuses on broadcast and internet news publishing. It was founded in 1984 by Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy. For 38 years, the new channel has maintained its history.
Through several joint ventures, the company manages several broadcast channels, including the lifestyle channel NDTV Good Times, the infotainment station Astro Awani, and the news channel Independent Television. The corporation has business interests in general recreation and e-commerce.
It is now the most popular, trustworthy, and well-known news network in India. It was also a frontiersperson of online content. The rationale is that it was responsible for India’s first 24-hour news channel and lifestyle channel, both of which were independently launched by the company.
www.ndtv.com ranked first in India for general news, and it is now predominately an online company.
In addition to the first 2-in-1 channel in India, NDTV Profit for Business, and NDTV Prime for entertainment and infotainment-related information, NDTV presents channels such as NDTV 24×7 (in English), NDTV India (in Hindi), and NDTV Profit. Through these mediums, the firm keeps raising the bar for journalism with its innovative content and unshakable ethics.
In 1998, it collaborated with Star India to launch NDTV 24×7. Additionally, to connect with the Indian Diaspora, 24×7 is the only English-language news channel aired from India and is available in the UK, Canada, the United States, Australia, the Middle East, South Africa, New Zealand, Mauritius, and the majority of SAARC nations.
To take advantage of options, the company has increased the portfolio of its brands throughout the years. Resources across television, the Internet, and mobile devices are converged through subsidiaries. In contrast, it delivers local news stations high-end consulting to help them become established in international markets.
Industry Details on NDTV
In India, the media is crucial and has a big impact on the country’s economy. By the end of 2026, the value of the worldwide media sector is predicted to be over $2.93 trillion.
Founders and Staff of NDTV
Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy, a husband and wife team, launched it in 1984.
Roy Prannoy
Prannoy Roy is well-known as an Indian journalist, economist, CPA, and author. He is also credited with being one of the first to continuously contribute to the news and journalism industries. Pannoy Roy was born on October 15, 1949, in Calcutta, West Bengal. He was the offspring of P. L. Hurricane Roy, a manager at a multinational corporation in Calcutta.
Paresh Lal Roy, the grandfather of Prannoy Roy, was a traffic controller and amateur boxer. He achieved notoriety as the “Father of Indian Boxing”, primarily for promoting the sport all around the country.
Prannoy Roy is a Queen Mary University of London alumnus. In 1975, Prannoy Roy earned his chartered accounting degree. A fellow at the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales was said to have been conferred upon him. He then completed his education at the Delhi School of Economics in India, where he graduated with a PhD in agricultural economics in 1978.
Prannoy Roy functioned as a consultant for PwC up until 1983, at which point he and his wife co-founded NDTV. He acted as an associate professor at the Delhi School of Economics, his alma mater. The started his journalism career by working for Doordarshan. The authors of Decoding India’s Elections in 2019 are psychologist Dorab Sopariwala and author Prannoy Roy.
Prannoy Roy was also reported to have received an OPOS scholarship at the Doon School to attend Haileybury College, a fellowship from the Leverhulme Trust (UK) and the Queen Mary Prize for his BSc results. He was given the Red Ink award for lifetime triumph by the Mumbai Press Club in 2015 in recognition of his unending contributions to news television and journalism. Prannoy Roy is NDTV’s executive co-chairman at the moment.
Radhika Roy
On May 7, 1949, Radhika Roy was born in Calcutta, West Bengal. She has an English literature degree from the University of Delhi. She is also a post-graduate in broadcast journalism with a degree from the New School for Social Research in New York.
She has also taken a television producing course at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. The executive co-chair is currently Radhika Roy. Before working at NDTV, she was employed by The Indian Express’ editorial division. She has also worked as a news coordinator for India Today magazine.
As a person, Radhika Roy is considered quiet and appreciated by her coworkers. She has a lot of accomplishments. The Paley Center for Media, a museum devoted to the history of broadcasting, identified Radhika as one of 50 significant female figures in the history of radio and television transmission.
She was also listed among the top 50 businesswomen in India, according to Fortune India. About 16.32% of the stock is Radhika’s total ownership. Through a 50:50 holding company called RRPR Holding Pvt Ltd, Radhika holds an additional 29.18% of the company along with her husband.
Ravish Kumar
NDTV India’s Senior Executive Editor is Ravish Kumar. Ravish has operated as the host of multiple programmes, including Prime Time, Hum Log, Des ko Baat, etc. He has a degree from Deshbandhu, an institution affiliated with Delhi University. Later, he enrolled in the Hindi journalism post-graduate diploma programme at the Indian Institute of Mass Communication.
Additionally, he received the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award twice in a row in 2019. He was successful in winning the Ramon Magsaysay Award, making him the fifth Indian journalist to do so. He was recognised as one of the 100 most effective Indians in 2016 by The Indian Express, and the Mumbai Press Club named him Journalist of the Year.
In addition to being a superb writer, Ravish Kumar is the author of multiple books on a variety of subjects, including The Free Voice: On Democracy, Ishq Mein Shahr Hona (in Hindi), A City Happens In Love, and many others.
He not only acted as the show’s anchor but also appeared on Kunal Kamra’s stand-up comedy programme, “Shut Up Ya Kunal.” On the broadcast, Ravish mainly talked about his reporting and personal life. He took part in a different episode of Samdish Bhatia’s program called “Off the Record.” At the Lady Shri Ram College of the University of Delhi, Nayana Dasgupta, the partner of Ravish Kumar, is a professor.
Startup Story of NDTV
Doordarshan’s humble origins
Its history dates back to 1984, when it was founded as a production facility for various news programmes for Doordarshan and other foreign news networks. In 1888, the business launched the first independent television news network.
It was later proved that Doordarshan had employed the networks to generate more thorough coverage of the special budget session and the general elections in India. Both projects were favourably received by the public.
The first election to be shown live on television was the general election in 1989 in India, which was also covered. It included conversations, arguments, images, and national hotlines.
After some time, the firm proposed that Doordarshan switch its production to a daily half-hour newscast on DD Metro, the second Doordarshan channel. As the idea was approved, News Tonight began airing. With this, the business created multiple new shows for Doordarshan, including The News Hour and Good Morning India.
Agreement between Star News and Rupert Murdoch
Rupert Murdoch and NDTV signed a five-year contract in 1998. Rupert Murdoch owns the Start Network. The agreement stipulated that it would produce all of the network’s news content, while Murdoch’s News Corporation subsidiary, News Television in India, would manage the financial aspects of the project. Two news programmes on Star Plus and Star World at 9:00 p.m. also featured programming.
Within a month after its launch, they launched “ndtv.com,” its news website. The website’s immediate goal was to stream live webcasts of original works, which eventually contributed to an increase in daily views, which currently stand at 55,000.
Additionally, they tried to introduce a newscast on Vijay TV as their first foray into the local market. The Star Network-owned station carried the newscast when it first debuted in Tamil.
Conflicts between NDTV and Star India later in 2002 prevented the deal from being renewed. NDTV was initially an independent news channel. It began as an independent broadcaster after its collaboration with Star India was terminated. It was known that Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley gave the company equity funding.
The company introduced NDTV India and NDTV 24×7 in the year 2003. The following year, It became a publicly traded company with independent directors Tarun Das and N.R. Narayan Murthy. The Confederation of Indian Industry’s chief mentor is Tarun Das, and Infosys was founded by N.R. Narayan Murthy.
To create the Bahasa Melayu entertainment channel Astro Awani, It announced in June 2006 a partnership with the Southeast Asian media company Astro. NDTV would own a 20% stake in the joint venture.
The company started growing into the lifestyle programming and general entertainment sectors in 2007 to strengthen its presence. On September 7th, 2007, Lifestyle, a new subsidiary, debuted. NDTV Good Times was the first channel that NDTV Lifestyle in India introduced.
In 2009, NDTV Lifestyle also agreed to collaborate with the United Breweries Group for the branding of Kingfisher lager and NDTV Good Times.
The business envisioned a genre of local news-focused channels in addition to an established NDTV MetroNation. The primary purpose was to create several channels centred on key Indian cities such as Delhi, Kolkata, and Mumbai.
Mission & Vision of NDTV
“To engage with people and organisations in the communities we serve to offer excellent programming, learning opportunities, and economic development to our region,” reads the mission statement of NDTV.
“To be widely recognised for excellence in Public Television,” reads NDTV’s mission statement.
Name, tagline, and logo for NDTV
The tagline of NDTV 24×7 is “Fight for Change.”
The tagline for NDTV India is “Khabar Wahi Jo Sach Dikhaye.”
Business Model for NDTV
The business operations of the media involve purchasing and selling advertising on radio, television, video, cable, etc., both domestically and abroad.
The company’s business locations are dispersed across the country as offices and studios, and they house the most advanced production, newsgathering, and archiving capabilities in India, along with the award-winning show and creative teams.
NDTV conducts business primarily through the following four channels:
NDTV 24×7 – Provides news in English by focusing on a broad range of topics, including sports, entertainment, weather, and national and international news.
NDTV India – The 24-hour Hindi news channel
NDTV Profit – Provides all business and financial news
NDTV Prime – This NDTV channel features interesting news on a variety of topics, including gadgets, cars, education, careers, real estate, entertainment, comedy, and more.
Also well renowned for having numerous affiliates is NDTV. NDTV Convergence Limited, Red Pixels Ventures Limited, NDTV Networks Limited, NDTV Worldwide Limited, NDTV Media Limited, NDTV Labs Limited, Delta Softpro Private Limited, Fifth Gear Ventures Limited, OnArt Quest Limited, BrickbuyBrick Projects Limited, Redster Digital Limited, NDTV Lifestyle Holdings Limited, NDTV Lifestyle Limited, NDTV Ethnic Retail Limited, NDTV Ethnic Retail Limited, and NDTV Ethnic
The company’s most recent project, Mojarto.com, is India’s largest art marketplace, with artworks hand-selected from outstanding artists. It offers outstanding Indian Art & Collectibles at competitive prices, including original paintings, digital prints, jewellery, and other home decor items.
Additionally heavily interested in offering EPG services is NDTV through their initiative, UREQA. Furthermore, NDTV is well-known for providing several metadata services, such as channel ratings, programming, scheduling, and data in several languages, such as English, Hindi, and Tamil. Roughly speaking, these services fall under the umbrella of rich multimedia information.
Revenue Model for NDTV
The four networks’ advertising is its main source of income. The business partners with many companies and groups to broadcast a variety of product adverts on its channels. The demand for programmatic buying among their new and existing advertisers started to climb steadily as the company launched.
With more than 119 million unique visits per month, it is one of India’s leading online news outlets. YouTube also pays NDTV India on an annual basis. On its YouTube channel, it purportedly has more than 14.8 million subscribers.
The business recently claimed that its total costs climbed 6.94% to Rs 83.33 crore in Q1 FY 2022–23 from Rs 77.92 crore the year prior.
Challenges and Controversies at NDTV
If one person is successful, the other person will have difficulties and obstacles. With NDTV, this was the situation. In 2015, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) allegedly broke the Foreign Exchange Management Act and issued a notice.
In 2016, the government banned the Hindi-language news outlet NDTV India because it posed a risk to national security.
There were still difficulties for the media to face. In 2015, NDTV received a tax reassessment letter accusing it of evading taxes for the fiscal years 2009–2010. Additionally, the channel was accused by CIB of defrauding ICICI Bank and participating in the TRP scam.
Gautam Adani plans to own the prevalence of NDTV.
The Adani Group’s bid to gain a majority interest in the news channel is the story that is garnering media attention national.
The media recently received a hostile acquisition bid from the Adani Group, which is led by Gautam Adani, the richest man in India.
Given that Gautam Adani is close with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, this has given rise to numerous worries. Many government officials claim that the acquisition drive is comparable to Mukesh Ambani’s prior takeover of the important news channel Network18, another billionaire with close ties to Narendra Modi.
Things became contentious when the founders of the channel expressed surprise at the purchase effort and claimed that Adani Group had not contacted them, had not sought their input, and had not obtained their consent to the deal.
The transfer of the RRPR’s stake, according to them, cannot be finished. The primary cause of it was the promoters’ being subjected to regulatory restrictions that kept them from accessing the market until November 2022. A SEBI clearance will be necessary for the transfer. Adani, however, has disputed this justification, asserting that SEBI approval was not required for the purchase.
Investments on NDTV
MobiKwik received funding from NDTV Limited on July 17, 2019. A fintech firm called MobiKwik provides a platform for loans, life insurance, and online payments. NDTV contributed 8.7 crore rupees to Mobikwik’s Series E investment round.
Shareholders | NDTV
With a controlling interest of 61.45%, the co-founders Radhika Roy and Prannoy Roy are the company’s promoters. They each hold 16.32% and 15.95% of the shares, respectively, and together they hold an additional 29.18% through RRPR, a holding company. LTS Investment Fund of Mauritius and Vikasa India EIF I Fund of India are two additional investors who hold 9.75% and 4.42% of the company, respectively.
The billionaire Gautam Adani, who has close relations with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, initiated a hostile takeover proposal for them in August 2022. The move sparked significant criticism and worries that the country’s press freedom would continue to deteriorate under the Modi administration.
The Adani Group is connected to both businesses. Four of the thirteen Indian companies in which the LTS Investment Fund has assets totalling Rs 19,328 crores ($2.4 billion)—or around 98% of its overall investments totalling Rs 18,916.7 crores—are owned by the Adani Group.
Online and social media presence
The corporation is adept at leaving a digital trail on social media because it is a part of the mass media sector. The channel is well-represented on popular social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube. Other sorts of internet platforms also use it.
453,288 LinkedIn followers
9.4 million people followers on Facebook
17.3 million people follow Twitter.
14.8 million people follow YouTube.
Awards and Achievements
NDTV has won numerous accolades, including:
- Award for Excellence in Environmental Reporting
- Award for Excellence in Business and Economic Reporting
- May 2018 Mumbai Press Club RedInk Awards
- Maya Sharma of NDTV 24×7 is the best reporter for human interest stories.
Competitors
Top rivals to NDTV include:
- Zee News
- Sun TV network
- Prime focus
- Saregama India
- Network18
- Dish TV India
- India Today
- CNN
- BBC
- OutlookIndia
Future Plans | NDTV
Regarding its future ambitions, no clear comment has been made as of yet. The company is currently awaiting SEBI’s permission to determine whether or not the acquisition by Adani Group is legitimate. According to the firm, Gautam Adani is “seriously overleveraged.” It claims that Gautam Adani fell into the debt trap as a result of his too ambitious growth goals that were financed by debt.
Conclusion
An Indian media company called New Delhi Television Ltd. has been operating on the market for almost 38 years. A journalist and an economist collaborated to launch it in 1984.
With time, the company finally rose to become one of the most prosperous media companies. Some of the company’s highlights, such as its inception, problems faced, and future goals, are discussed in the context already mentioned.
Edited by Prakriti Arora
