NDTV 24x7

NDTV 24x7 is a 24-hour English-language television news channel based in New Delhi, India.[1][2]

NDTV 24x7
CountryINDIA
Broadcast areaInternational
HeadquartersNew Delhi, India
Programming
Language(s)English
Picture format576i SDTV
Ownership
OwnerAdani Group
Sister channelsNDTV India
NDTV BQ Prime
History
Launched2003
Links
WebcastNDTV 24x7

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 for Doordarshan. The freelancers were given assignments to cover news and later they were also involved in current affairs programmes and documentaries.[3]

1988: New Delhi Television was set up by Prannoy Roy – a former professor of economics at the University of Delhi – and his wife and business partner Radhika Roy.[2][4] The Roys are today known for helping to break the Indian government's grip on television news.[1]

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. NDTV quickly established as a credible private news provider. 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.[1][2][3][5]

1989: NDTV produces India's first televised coverage of general elections results with analysis.[3]

1995: NDTV became India's first private producer of the national news with telecast of "Tonight" on Doordarshan.[3]

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.[5]

1998: Star India sets up the Star News channel, India's first 24-hour news channel [with NDTV] to coincide with the general elections.[3] 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.[5] 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.[4]

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 of the Gujarat riots in 2002.[5]

New channels

2003: With the end of its contract with Star, NDTV launched its own news channels in English (NDTV 24x7) and Hindi (NDTV India).[3] 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 struggle to survive on its own. 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 had been a success story in terms of influence, but its recent criticism of the Indian government has led to the depletion of its viewship. 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. NDTV has been on a cost-cutting spree for several quarters now, as it seeks to stay relevant in a competitive market.[6]

2005: NDTV launched business news channel NDTV Profit.

Distribution network

NDTV channels have an overseas audience among the Indian diaspora in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Asia Pacific, 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.

NDTV 24x7 broadcasts in the UK on the Sky (Channel 509) and Virgin Media (Channel 621)[7] platforms, in the USA on the Dish Network, Spectrum, Sling TV and Xfinity platform, in South Africa on DSTV, in Canada available via a partnership with Asian Television Network, in Australia on the Vision Asia and Fetch TV (Under Taj Mahal Pack and Basic Pack) platform, Singapore on Singtel's Singtel TV (Between Since 2008 to 2011, Return From 2015), Starhub TV (Since 2013) platform and in Sri Lanka on Dialog TV & Peo TV

Controversies

Prevention of Corruption Act case

The CBI had filed a criminal conspiracy case against NDTV managing director Roy in 1998 for alleging fraud in Doordarshan upgrade.[8] In July 2013, Roy and NDTV were cleared by the courts and found not-guilty of all charges involving cases filed against Roy by the CBI under Section 120-B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for criminal conspiracy and under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.[9]

NDTV, through its foreign subsidiaries, is alleged to have violated Indian tax and corporate laws. NDTV has denied these allegations.

Radia tapes controversy
Main article: Radia tapes controversy

Radia tapes relate to telephonic conversations tapped by Income tax department, which include conversation of NDTV Journalist Barkha Dutt.

The transcripts of the tapes, referred to the lobbying activity against the reappointment of Dayanidhi Maran to the post of Union IT and Communications minister in the UPA tenure in Indian government.

  • Conversation with NDTV journalist Barkha Dutt at 0948 IST.[10]
  • In a later conversation at 1047 IST, Barkha says that it (conveying the message to Congress(ruling government in the year)) was 'not a problem' and that she would talk to Ghulam (Nabi Azad) (Indian politician and Congress member).[11]

The Sunday Guardian's allegations

The Sunday Guardian ran a story which exposed the NDTV's financial misdemeanours and malpractices in connivance with ICICI Bank.[12] It provides details of how NDTV's major stakeholders raised funds by misdeclaration of the value of shares in NDTV. NDTV has denied the allegations and the NDTV CEO replied to the Sunday Guardian along with the threat of "criminal defamation". On 5 June 2017, the House of Prannoy Roy was raided by NIA and CBI.

Foreign Exchange Management Act violation

On 19 November 2015 the ED served ₹2,030 crore (US$280 million) notice to NDTV for alleged violations under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, however the company said it has been advised that the allegations are not "legally tenable".[13]

Income tax cases

The "Income Tax Appellate Tribunal" (ITAT) has upheld an income tax department finding that promoters of NDTV used their own shell companies to round-trip investments of ₹642 crore (US$90 million) during 2009-10, making them liable for recovery of tax and penalty.[14]

The Delhi bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal which functioned under the Ministry of Law upheld the findings of the department held the company liable for reassessment of taxation with penalty. According to the findings, the company had allegedly colluded with NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of General Electric in a complex money laundering scheme for evading taxation of what was noted to be relatively small amount of funds relative to the size of the companies.[15][16][17]

Securities and Exchange Board of India violation

In September 2018, Roy and his wife Radhika were issued show cause notice by Securities and Exchange Board of India for violation of insider trading regulations though their company NDTV downplayed the notices stating they were seeking legal advice on the issue. Earlier that year, in the month March they were fined Rs 3 lac each by SEBI for disclosure lapses.[18]

Securities and Exchange Board of India barred Prannoy Roy and his wife Radhika Roy from accessing the securities market for 2 years after an investigation revealed that they concealed material info from shareholders regarding loan agreements and hence they cannot hold management positions in NDTV board.[19]

Central Bureau of Investigation case
  • In 2017, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) lodged a case against the company on allegations that it had defrauded ICICI Bank,[20] and the offices of the company and residence of the founders, the Roys were raided by the bureau. The case was lodged on the basis of a complaint by a stockbroker Sanjay Dutt supported by the retracted Sunday Guardian article. It was noted that ICICI Bank itself considered the company to have returned the loan within an year and had not received any details of the case.[21] The raids received condemnation and the CBI was accused of being under pressure from the government to act against the news broadcaster.[22][23][24]
  • In August 2019, the Central Bureau of Investigation filed a fresh case against Prannoy Roy, his wife Radhika Roy and former NDTV CEO Vikram Chandra for violating FDI rules and routing of tainted money of unknown public servants through shell firms.[25]

Awards

See also

References
  1. News Delhi TV - Forbes
  2. Louis Brawley Remote Control: Indian Television in the New Millennium Penguin UK (2012)
  3. Shrivastava, K M Broadcast Journalism. Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd New Delhi (2005) p. 36-37
  4. Michael Bromley, Angela Romano Journalism and Democracy in Asia Routledge (2012) p. 58-59
  5. Jean K. Chalaby Transnational Television Worldwide: Towards a New Media Order. I.B.Tauris (2005) p. 136
  6. NDTV Good Times staffers told to move to other group channels | Business Line
  7. "NDTV 24X7 expands reach in UK with Virgin". Indiantelevision.com. 16 December 2011. Retrieved 18 December 2011.
  8. "www.outlookindia.com | Star Crossed". www.outlookindia.com. Archived from the original on 10 September 2015. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  9. "NDTV and Prannoy Roy – Once Upon a Time". 14 February 2011.
  10. "www.outlookindia.com | No. 3 Barkha Dutt: May 22, 2009 09:48:51". Outlook India. Archived from the original on 22 November 2010. Retrieved 23 January 2012.
  11. "www.outlookindia.com | No. 7 Barkha Dutt: May 22, 2009 10:47:33". Outlook India. Retrieved 23 January 2012.
  12. "Archived copy". www.sunday-guardian.com. Archived from the original on 2 February 2011. Retrieved 11 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  13. "NDTV gets ED notice for alleged FEMA violations". 21 November 2015.
  14. "NDTV round-tripped Rs 642 crore via shell companies in 2009-2010: Tribunal | India News - Times of India". The Times of India.
  15. "NDTV case: assessing officer was right in adding ₹642 crore, says ITAT". Business Line. 11 January 2018. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  16. Verma, Sunny (19 July 2017). "Clear case of organisation form or legal form abuse, without reasonable business purpose". The Indian Express. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  17. "NDTV: A legal mountain to climb". The Hoot. 31 July 2017.
  18. "Sebi slaps Rs 10 lakh fine on NDTV, Rs 3 lakh on Prannoy Roy for disclosure lapses". 17 March 2018.
  19. Zachariah, Reena. "Sebi bars NDTV promoters Prannoy, Radhika Roy from accessing securities markets for 2 years". The Economic Times.
  20. "NDTV co-founder Prannoy Roy's home raided by CBI". Scroll.in. 6 June 2017.
  21. "What We Know and What We Don't About the NDTV-ICICI Bank Case". The Wire. 6 June 2017.
  22. Krishnan, Murali (7 November 2016). "'Ridiculous and arbitrary' – Indian journalists slam NDTV ban". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  23. Venu, M. K. (8 November 2016). "The Creeping Erosion of Free Expression". The Wire. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  24. "Full text: CBI issues statement on NDTV raids, denies allegations of 'acting under pressure'". Scroll.in. 6 June 2017.
  25. Pandey, Devesh K. (21 August 2019). "CBI books fresh case against NDTV, Roys for allegedly violating FDI rules". The Hindu.
  26. "Award Winners". Screen. Archived from the original on 22 October 1999. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  27. "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. Archived from the original on 5 October 2011. Retrieved 22 October 2011.

Further reading
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