NDTV 24x7
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Country | India |
---|---|
Headquarters | New Delhi, India |
Programming | |
Language(s) | English |
Ownership | |
Owner | NDTV |
NDTV 24x7 is a 24-hour English-language news and current affairs television channel based in New Delhi, India.[2][3] According to BARC, the channel has the second-highest rating among all English news channel in India.[4]
History
Until about the end of the 1980s, like most of the world television broadcasting was not in private hands in India. In the news production area there were some private stringers of Doordarshan. They were given assignments to cover news and later they were also involved in current affairs programmes and documentaries.[5]
1988: New Delhi Television is set up by Prannoy Roy - a former professor of economics at the University of Delhi - and his wife and business partner Radhika Roy.[3][6] The Roys are today known for helping to break the Indian government’s grip on television news.[2]
New Delhi Television started producing "The World This Week", a highly successful weekly news magazine covering world news and entertainment for Doordarshan. NDTV’s coverage of Tiananmen Square and the fall of the Berlin Wall was path-breaking in Indian television reporting and gave it brand recognition. The NDTV quickly established as a credible private news provider. The NDTV catered their programmes to Doordarshan and later for CNN and BBC. Unlike the television wing of PTI and United News of India, this private news production enterprise was largely successful.[2][3][5][7]
1989: NDTV produces India's first televised coverage of general elections results with analysis.[5]
1995: NDTV became India's first private producer of the national news with telecast of "Tonight" on Doordarshan.[5]
Joint venture
1996: Since the Indian legislation required a majority Indian ownership for news broadcasters, STAR commissions NDTV to provide supply news content to STAR News.[7]
1998: STAR Network sets up the STAR News channel, India's first 24-hour news channel [with NDTV] to coincide with the general elections.[5] STAR News (English/Hindi) made a big impact on behalf of the global Murdoch network, winning larger audiences in India than longer-established broadcasters such as CNN and BBC.[7] Although STAR News had the STAR platform, the news was not produced in-house. NDTV provided all the news material- both in Hindi and English - including its presentation and packaging for STAR. By this mutually beneficial partnership NDTV could reach homes of affluent Indians through the STAR platform, while STAR could benefit from the gravitas of a serious news channel.[6]
As part of the STAR bouquet of channels, STAR News remained dependent on its relationship with Murdoch and vulnerable to changes in STAR's strategy. As the end of its contract with STAR approached, NDTV considered a number of possibilities to broaden its appeal and its revenue. STAR had already been downplaying NDTV's profile. Its contract with NDTV did not give STAR editorial control, and STAR's management were uneasy when India government criticised NDTV for its reporting the Gujarat riots in 2002.[7]
New channels
2003: With end of contract with STAR, NDTV launched its own news channels in English (NDTV 24x7) and Hindi (NDTV India).[5] Star TV was keen to renew NDTV’s contract but was no longer willing to give it full editorial control. STAR retained the STAR News brand, but channel continued only in Hindi. Media observers expected that NDTV would have to struggle to survive its own. However, by 2003 NDTV had grown financially strong enough to have the confidence to go it alone. But after much speculation about its future, it announced a distribution partnership with Sony Entertainment Television's One World Alliance. This alliance with Sony gave NDTV a strong base from which to establish a new profile.
NDTV has been an extraordinary success story in terms of influence, but its recent history also illustrates the commercial fragility of a channel that appeals primarily to an elite English-speaking audience. STAR's decision [after it ended its contract with NDTV] to concentrate on Hindi news bulletins and to drop its English service is also a significant indicator of the balance between profitability and influence in the crowded Indian television news market[7] NDTV has been on a cost-cutting spree for several quarters now, as it seeks to stay profitable in a competitive market.[8]
2005: NDTV launched NDTV Profit which focuses on business news.
Distribution network
NDTV channels have an overseas audience among the Indian diaspora in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., the Middle East and South Africa, thanks to deals with satellite operators, such as Sky and DirecTV. To accelerate the global push, NDTV formed a joint venture with a subsidiary of Kuala Lumpur’s Astro All Asia Network, taking a 20% stake. In 2006, it launched: Astro Awani, a Bahasa-language channel in Indonesia.[2]
NDTV 24x7 broadcasts in the UK on the Sky (Channel 511) and Virgin Media[9] platforms, in the USA on the Dish Network platform, in South Africa on DSTV, in Canada available via a partnership with Asian Television Network, in Australia on the Vision Asia platform, and in Singapore on Singtel's Mio TV platform.[citation needed]
Awards
- Best English News Channel of Asia in 2005 at the Asian Television Awards.
- Best English News Channel in 2005 and 2006 at the Indian Television Academy Awards[10]
See also
References
- ^ Broadcast Audience Research Council
- ^ a b c d News Delhi TV - Forbes
- ^ a b c Louis Brawley Remote Control: Indian Television in the New Millennium Penguin UK (2012)
- ^ Broadcast Audience Research Council
- ^ a b c d e f Shrivastava, K M Broadcast Journalism. Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd New Delhi (2005) p. 36-37
- ^ a b Michael Bromley, Angela Romano Journalism and Democracy in Asia Routledge (2012) p. 58-59
- ^ a b c d e Jean K. Chalaby Transnational Television Worldwide: Towards a New Media Order. I.B.Tauris (2005) p. 136
- ^ NDTV Good Times staffers told to move to other group channels | Business Line
- ^ "NDTV 24X7 expands reach in UK with Virgin". Indiantelevision.com. 16 December 2011. Retrieved 18 December 2011.
- ^ "Television Awards : NDTV Sweeps the Television Awards of 2003 Hero Honda Indian Television Academy Awards (HHITA), 2006 Barkha Dutt was awarded the 'Best Anchor Award - Talk Show' article is related to Television Awards, NDTV, Indian Telly Awards, Best Anchor Award - Talk Show, Best Lifestyle Show, Indian Television". Cinechance.com. 26 November 2006. Retrieved 22 October 2011.