Six years after going off air, the business news channel NDTV Profit is set to resume operations from December 8, broadcaster New Delhi Television said on Tuesday.
Part of the Adani group, NDTV informed the stock exchanges that its board of directors had approved regular operations of NDTV Profit. NDTV’s shares closed trade up 11.73% versus the previous day’s close on the BSE at Rs 229.60 apiece.
NDTV plans to launch regional news channels. NDTV Gujarati and NDTV Marathi are also slated for launch in the coming months, complementing its flagship channels—NDTV India in Hindi and NDTV 24X7 in English. NDTV Rajasthan and NDTV Madhya Pradesh/Chhattisgarh have already been launched by the broadcaster.
Company executives stated that NDTV Profit will be third flagship for the broadcaster, targeting the business news space.
In the Indian news genre, encompassing both business and general news channels, with an advertising worth around Rs 5,000 crore, business news remains a niche segment. Currently, CNBC-TV18, ET Now, and Zee Business are the main competitors, making NDTV Profit the fourth dedicated news channel in this segment.
While NDTV’s revenue from operations in the September 2023 quarter declined by 10%, and net profit fell by 51%, the broadcaster remains optimistic about its outlook on the media market. Despite the challenges, NDTV anticipates a bounce back in advertising in the second half of the financial year in terms of advertising.
The Adani group had acquired a 29.18% stake in NDTV last year by buying a company (RRPR Holding) backed by the television network’s founders, Radhika Roy and Prannoy Roy.
Thereafter, it made an open offer to acquire an additional 26% from public shareholders. That open offer found investors willing to sell over 5.3 million shares of NDTV, which translated into an 8.26% shareholding in the company, taking the total interest of the Adani group in NDTV to 37.44%.
The group subsequently bought 27.26% equity stake in NDTV from Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy in December last year, taking its overall stake to nearly 65%. It has since increased its stake further in the company to nearly 70% at the end of the September 2023 quarter.