Network18

Is India ready for superpower status? Or are we irretrievably behind in the game of catch-up with China? What are our key strengths and weaknesses, and what unique things do we have to contribute to the global community in the 21st century?

Network18 Managing Editor Raghav Bahl answers these questions in his book Superpower? The Amazing Race Between China’s Hare and India’s Tortoise.

Superpower?, which will be published by Penguin Books India, is already being called as one the most definitive books on the subject.

“A unique and gripping account of the evolving geo-politics and the role of India and China in a transformational shift, this book will be of much interest to policymakers and investors alike,” says Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma.

Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman and Managing Director of Bharti Enterprises, says the book is “insightful”

“An insightful narration on the two most talked about nations in the world today, India and China. Raghav has delved into events, both current and historical, to compare and contrast the economic environment, polity and society,” says Mittal.

K V Kamath, Chairman of ICICI Bank Ltd, praises the book as “lucid, entertaining, articulate and readable”. ‘Raghav brings to bear his unique perspective as a journalist and entrepreneur to a discussion of history, economics and politics, presenting a broad sweep of information and ideas in an immensely lucid, entertaining, articulate and readable way. Un-put-down-able!’ says Kamath.

In the race to superpower status, who is likely to breast the tap-- China’s hare or India’s tortoise? China’s spectacular sweep, compared to India’s relatively mild rise, could tempt an easy answer. But history unfolds over time, and Bahl argues that the winner of the race with the biggest stakes ever might not be determined by who is investing more and growing faster today, but by something slightly more intangible: who has superior innovation and more entrepreneurial savvy and is grappling with and expanding in the most intensely competitive conditions. And, at the end, it might come down to just one deciding factor: can India fix its governance before China repairs its politics?

With telling insights into the two Asian powers’ history, politics, economy and culture; Superpower? The Amazing Race Between China’s Hare and India’s Tortoise is a brilliantly written, superbly documented, rich and comprehensive account of the race to dominance between the two neighbours. For anyone looking to understand China and India and the ways in which these two nations are about to change the history of the world, this is the book to read.

IN.COM BUILDS ON LAUNCH MOMENTUM, ESTABLISHES LEADERSHIP

In.com emerges as the No. 2 Indian Website
Propels WEB18 to 2nd largest Indian Web Network

October 20, Mumbai:Web18’s latest venture, IN.COM has emerged as India’s No.2 online destination in the latest comscore report for the month of September. This marks a new milestone in what has been a spectacular journey since the site’s beta launch in July. IN.COM is on its way to becoming India’s No.1.general interest online destination. Earlier, IN.COM had made a smashing debut by entering the Top 10 Indian sites league table within a few weeks of launch.

IN.COM capitalizes on a unique user proposition which builds on the strongest benefits that the internet delivers and then maps that to community choices through a smart aggregation model. At the heart of IN.COM is an intelligent meta aggregator, essentially a crawler, which ensures a dynamic, smart and continuous mapping of the internet universe, from which only the most sought after and relevant sites are showcased for the user.

The IN.COM construct is based on the fundamental needs of any online user and the site is home to all content that act as drivers for accessing the internet today. From READING news, blogs, feeds and information to WATCHING videos, from LISTENING to music to PLAYING games, from MAILING to SEARCHING for products,holidays,grooms and SHOPPING.

The site has impressive content width with the largest online collection of licensed music in India (More than 30,000 songs) and a great repertoire of online games (More than 10,000 games) apart from delivering the first fully indigenously developed, globally benchmarked email service (A cool memorable email id). IN.COM has a content neutral approach, which considers videos and text content equally during news search results. The site operates with a robust methodology for site selection which indexes content and auto-associates objects based on proximity, frequency and uniqueness. The power packed content offering of IN.COM has been packaged into a rich but clutter free user interface, which greatly facilitates ease in accessing the right content and a fantastic user experience.

Recently, IN.COM unveiled its marketing campaign and has a robust pipeline of strategic partnerships which included the site being the online interface for high recall properties such as BigBoss2, MTV Youth Icon and others in the offing.

Commenting on the development Rishi Khiani, COO, Web18 said “The latest set of numbers ratifies our belief that the India online space was ripe for a new service that delivered the medium smartly and yet comprehensively. We envisaged IN.COM to be that answer and its heartening to know that millions of netizens have vindicated us. The site is as dynamic as the net itself and we’ll be focused on evolving our site offering to be in tune with the needs of our online users. It’s a great team effort and this motivates us to achieve the next quantum leap”.

About Web18

Web 18 is the Internet and Mobile arm of Network 18, India’s leading Media conglomerate. It has a variety of leading information and transactional services based on the Internet. Other offerings include; MoneyControl.com, Cricketnext.com, CommoditiesControl.com, PowerYourTrade.com, Tech2.com, Biztech2.com, IBNLive.com, Compareindia.com, Storeguru.com, Indiaearnings.com, JobStreet.com, Indiwo.com, Buzz18.com, Josh18.com

Network 18 launches Cell 18 - a client facing creative services hot shop

Mumbai, May 2, 2008: The Cell, the creative division at Network18 has been churning out some great work over the last few years and has now decided to expand its operations. Over the years, the cell has grown into a massive creative powerhouse that has been producing award-winning work on a regular basis. It has been powering all promos across the IBN & CNBC networks and has established itself as a benchmark creative team in the Indian television industry. In fact, it has evolved into one of the largest and most professionally run creative teams embedded in a Media Conglomerate anywhere in the world, winning a slew of awards domestically and internationally.

The Cell (now Cell 18) was started in 2002 by Zubin Driver and now boasts of a crack team of directors, writers, graphic designers and production talent.

In the fourth quarter of the last financial year, Cell18 decided to "test the waters" by concentrating on work outside the group for agencies and direct clients. The results were very very promising, to say the least.

Says, B. Sai. Kumar, GROUP COO, Network18, "I believe the market opportunity in creative production is huge, both domestically and internationally. Over the years, we've invested substantial amounts in intellectual capital and technology, making sure the cell is fully equipped to deliver world-class creative output.

Cell18 is the logical next step for the cell and will function as a division of Network18 that will service the creative and brand needs of clients directly. The division will seek to optimize our tremendous creative & strategic strengths in that area."

Zubin Driver, Head, Cell 18 is extremely confident about being able to offer quality solutions to clients at extremely competitive rates.

He explains, "The work that we have accomplished so far for the Network18 Group speaks for itself. People get fascinated when they see our showreel. Our focus will be to professionalize the vast ad film and creative production market place. We will enter as the single largest professional player and will seek to maintain our leadership in this space."

Some of the biggest advantages for Cell 18 is its ability to deliver competitive pricing, world-class quality and a huge bandwidth of work, from ad films, web films, channel packaging to brand design. This is a fact that leading advertising agencies like JWT, LOWE and DDB Mudra have already recognized. Cell18 has recently shot 3 BILT Matrix brand films for Lowe, executed a large web films project for Pepsi through JWT and is now executing a large turnkey project for Airtel via JWT.

With the advent of Cell18, the ad film making industry in India will start experiencing a new paradigm in the business. In many ways, Cell18 is as idea whose time has come.

Alibaba.com and Infomedia Form Strategic Partnership in India

World’s leading B2B online marketplace collaborates with India’s largest B2B media company to provide Indian SMEs with the best solution for domestic and global trade

MUMBAI, 29 April 2008 – Alibaba.com Limited (SEHK: 1688), the world's leading B2B e-commerce company, and Infomedia India Limited, India’s largest Yellow Pages and special interest publishing company, today announced a multi-year strategic partnership designed to benefit small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) in India.

The Alibaba.com and Infomedia partnership will combine the power of traditional print publishing with online media and e-commerce, providing Indian SMEs with a one-stop solution for global and domestic trade. Together they will create a strong online community of Indian business people and provide them with a single cost-effective channel to promote their products and source from quality suppliers in India and around the world. It will also provide SMEs in India with the latest industry news and technical developments in multi-media formats.

Prakash Iyer, Managing Director, Infomedia, said, “As India’s largest Yellow Pages company – and now as a part of the Network 18 group - Infomedia is delighted to bring to Indian businesses the global reach and strengths of Alibaba.com. We have a long history of helping SMEs grow their business – and this partnership with Alibaba.com will help Indian businesses grow to their fullest potential worldwide. The Infomedia-Alibaba partnership will bring value to Indian SMEs by giving them a larger, multi-media business platform encompassing domestic and global trade services.”

David Wei, Chief Executive Officer, Alibaba.com, said, “With its huge growth potential, India is a very important and strategic market for Alibaba.com and is a top priority for our global expansion plans. While Alibaba.com is the expert in helping small businesses trade internationally, Infomedia brings us a strong understanding of the Indian SME and B2B market. With Infomedia we have a strong local partner who can provide on-the-ground support for our members, including sales, marketing and customer service. We believe this alliance will help us become the dominant online B2B marketplace in India by the end of 2008.”

India has more than 8 million SMEs, which account for almost 40 per cent of India’s industrial output and employ around 30 million people. It is estimated that 3 million SMEs are engaged in B2B trade and around 1 million are in the export business. Alibaba.com has more than 400,000 members in India, already making it one of the largest B2B online marketplaces in India by member count. With this partnership, Alibaba.com is expecting to double its Indian membership base in the near future. Alibaba.com launched a special India Channel late last year to help Indian suppliers find local and global buyers for their products and services. The India Channel has been well received by members, with more than 20,000 Indian companies signing up each month since January 2008.

Founded in 1999 in Hangzhou, China, Alibaba.com has built a global community of more than 27 million members from over 200 countries and regions. Thanks to Alibaba.com, small businesses around the world are going global and buyers and sellers of everything from automobile parts to evening dresses are finding their perfect trading partners faster and easier than ever before.

India is the second fastest growing major economy in the world. It had a GDP growth rate of 9.6% for the fiscal year 2006-2007 and is expected to grow by 8.7% this year. China, the world’s fastest growing economy, is India’s third largest export country. The Alibaba.com and Infomedia tie-up will help bridge two of the world’s fastest growing economies and further promote trade between India and China.

About Alibaba.com Limited

Alibaba.com (HKSE: 1688), a member of the Alibaba Group of companies, is the world's leading B2B e-commerce company. Our international marketplace (www.Alibaba.com) focuses on global importers and exporters and our China marketplace (www.Alibaba.com.cn) focuses on suppliers and buyers trading domestically in China. Together, our marketplaces form a community of more than 27 million registered users from over 200 countries and regions.

About Infomedia India Limited

Infomedia India Limited is India’s leading media company with strong market presence in diverse business areas spanning Yellow Pages, Magazine Publishing, Printing Services and Publishing Outsourcing. A pan-Indian network covering 26 cities with over 2,200 employees gives Infomedia a national footprint. The Company is the undisputed market leader in Yellow Pages and Special Interest Publishing and is one of the most respected contract printers in the country. Infomedia has expanded into the Publishing Outsourcing segment and is well placed to consolidate its position in this booming market with tremendous growth potential. Infomedia is a part of the Network 18 group – India’s fastest growing media conglomerate..

Alibaba.com
Alibaba.com Limited
Christina Splinder
Tel: +852 2215 5130
Email: csplinder@alibaba-inc.com

Perfect Relations
Vivek Padiyar / Kavita Singh
Tel: +91 98923 06446 / +91 98195 36839
E-mail: vpadiyar@perfectrelations.com/
ksingh@perfectrelations.com

Infomedia India Limited
Sampark Public Relations, India
Kavita K Bhaskaran / Sunita Libera
Tel + 91 99873 55009 / +91 98219 92518
E-mail: kavita.bhaskaran@sampark.com/
sunita@sampark.com

Network18 launches India’s First 24 hour Shopping Channel “HomeShop18”

Revolutionizing shopping in India with many unique and innovative consumer benefits like

Multiple Payment Options
In-Depth Product Information
Entertaining & Engaging Content
Anywhere Anytime Shopping

Free to Air distribution in over 700 cities across India – one of the largest distribution roll outs
Offers hundreds of new and innovative products every month with exceptional value pricing
Built on the large format retail principles as well as the convenience of the neighborhood store

Multi Brand – Over 200 Brands
10000 SKUs
Doorstep Delivery

Nagpur, April 17, 2008: Introducing a new concept of shopping in India, Network18 launches HomeShop18, India’s first 24 hour, free to air home shopping channel. HomeShop18 has taken the next leap and launched its dedicated home shopping channel after a successful pilot phase where it garnered about 4 lakh customers and built a robust range of about 10000 products. In its first phase, the channel will reach out to viewers in over 700 cities with a population of over 1 lakh. This will be followed shortly by a launch in the Metros. The channel is truly a shoppers’ delight, offering its viewers an immense variety of innovative and exclusive products at attractive prices. All this, from the comfort of their homes.

HomeShop18 promises to bring to its viewers interesting content and programming of international production quality through its state-of-the-art studio and extensive infrastructure. The channel has a wide bouquet of shows catering to a multitude of audiences across genres. From category specific shows like Gadget Bazaar and The Homemaker to special attractions like celebrity chef Sanjeev Kapoor hosting a cookery show called Chef Ka Tadka, and also the interactive game shows like Bid2Win, the channel brings innovative show concepts that are absolutely fresh, informative and entertaining. To further engage & entertain the audiences, a talented team of anchors will not only educate the viewers on detailed product knowledge but will also give recommendations on how these products can suit their lifestyle needs, thereby becoming the ideal shopping companions.

Starting off with an e-commerce portal, HomeShop18 has today become a full fledged 24 hour channel in a span of just 12 months! HomeShop18 caters to the needs of 400000 customers and has over 200 reputed brands on board like Motorola, Whirlpool, Philips, Sanyo, Tata AIG, Disney, Gitanjali Gems and Tanishq, to name a few. The 24-hour call centre, allowing consumers to call and book orders as per their convenience, handles 60000 calls per day and books 1000 orders a day. HomeShop18 has developed a nationwide distribution capability to reach over 1600 cities ranging from Andaman to Arunachal and from Kashmir to Kanyakumari .

Sundeep Malhotra, CEO, HomeShop18 said on the occasion, “Staying true to our promise of offering convenience of anytime shopping, HomeShop18, India’s first 24 hour home shopping channel is here to change the way India shops. Offering its viewers a delightful customer experience with great quality products at exceptional value supported by an unparalled nationwide delivery mechanism, we are here to transform the retail experience by presenting a smart and intelligent alternative with an assurance of ‘what you see is what you get’.” .

Commenting on the launch of HomeShop18, Mr. Raghav Bahl, Managing Director, Network18 Group said, “This is a great moment for us. Network18 has always believed in staying ahead of times and have pioneered many ventures. HomeShop18 is a true example of the same. The channel will enable the consumer, even in the remotest part of the country, with a wide range of product choices and availability at their doorsteps; Enlighten them with detailed product information and entertain the viewers with interesting and innovative programming, thus revolutionizing shopping in India”.

Targeted at all age groups, the channel’s core focus is the modern housewife who is pressed for time for shopping and seeks the pleasure of a convenient and reliable shopping alternative. The ease of having branded quality products at reasonable prices delivered at one’s doorstep is the common denominator for our target group. Easy payment options with no hidden costs and free home delivery on all products anywhere in India makes HomeShop18 an attractive shopping option. The channel’s content and gamut of products also attract the youth by offering them the latest gadgets, cosmetics, apparels and much more. As a whole the channel is a perfect fit catering to the shopping needs of the entire family.

About Network18
Network18[BSE: 532798,NSE: Network18] is one of India's leading full play media conglomerates with interests in television, print, internet, filmed entertainment, mobile content and allied businesses. Through its holding in Television Eighteen India Ltd (TV18) [BSE: 532299, NSE: TV-18], Network18 operates India’s leading business news television channels, CNBC-TV18 and CNBC Awaaz. It also runs one of India’s largest Internet players - Web18, as well as one of India’s leading real time financial information and news terminals - Newswire18. TV18 has recently expanded into print with the acquisition of Infomedia, India's leading player in the B2B publishing and printing operations space, and announced a collaboration with Forbes media for the launch of a business magazine in India and is in the process of launching a Hindi business daily for the Indian market via a 50:50 JV with Jagran Prakashan. Through its holding in Global Broadcast News Ltd (GBN) [BSE: 532800,NSE: GBN]

Network18 operates in the general news and entertainment space with leading general news channels CNN-IBN and IBN7 and has also launched a Marathi news channel in partnership with the Lokmat group. GBN also operates a joint venture with Viacom, called Viacom18 which houses the MTV, VH1 and Nickelodeon channels in India - as also Studio18, the Group’s filmed entertainment operation and will be launching a Hindi general entertainment channel. Additionally, Network18 holds the Group’s online & on-air home shopping venture, Homeshop18 and its full spectrum events management venture, E18. For more information, log on to www.network18online.com ,

About HomeShop18
Network18 Group, India’s leading business news broadcast company together with SAIF partners (South Asia Infrastructure Funds), is venturing into virtual shopping with HomeShop18. HomeShop18 is mandated to create India’s first comprehensive virtual retail business, operating in a multimedia environment including television, web, catalogue and other media to reach customers across the country directly.

Under Network18’s credible umbrella, HomeShop18 is partnering with the finest companies to bring reputed brands. It also brings great quality products at excellent value propositions. It is committed to providing a delightful customer experience, through entertaining and informative content on TV and the Web, a high quality customer contact centre and an efficient nationwide logistics footprint covering 1600 cities across India. Its highly customer-centric practices make shopping with HomeShop18 a smarter and more intelligent alternative.

HomeShop18 offers its customers great options like, 15-days no questions asked money-back guarantee, free home delivery and multiple payment options that include interest free EMI, cheque/dd pick up and cash on delivery. The convenience of ‘anytime shopping’ incorporates a wide-array of products across various product categories like electronics, health & beauty, home décor & kitchen, kids & toys, jewelry, gifts, services etc. Utmost importance is given to quality assurance and assessment of products, in sync with Network18’s strong brand attributes of trust and credibility. Aided by a dedicated team of dynamic professionals, HomeShop18 is committed to providing cost effective and innovative products to discerning consumers across India. Visit www.homeshop18.com for a delightful shopping experience!

Network18 & Lokmat Group launch ‘IBN-Lokmat’
~The first Marathi News Channel of International standards~

New Delhi, April 7, 2008: Network18’s Global Broadcast News (GBN), India’s leading News Network, and the Lokmat Group, Maharashtra’s leading Newspaper group, present IBN-Lokmat - a 24-hour Marathi News and Current Affairs Channel. The legacy of these two renowned media powerhouses will give IBN-Lokmat a sense of immense credibility as well as access to a vast audience base. Going on air from April 6, IBN-Lokmat will be a world-class credible News channel for the highly aware and conscious ‘Progressive Marathi’. The channel is home to the finest new age multimedia journalists led by Nikhil Wagle as the Editor and Rajdeep Sardesai, Editor-in-Chief, IBN Network.

Through its content, programming, state-of-the-art broadcast centre, extensive infrastructure and international production quality, IBN-Lokmat will embark on the principle of delivering news with the spirit of ‘Chala, Jag Jinkuya!’ (Literally meaning, ‘Let’s conquer the World). As credible journalism empowers people it gives them the inner confidence to take control of their surroundings and bring about change. IBN-Lokmat seeks to do just that and more. With reporters in every district of Maharashtra, and access to national and global networks, IBN Lokmat promises to become a bridge between Maharashtra and the wider world.

“The channel will talk in contemporary Marathi, be inclusive in its approach, will not mince words when it comes to taking up an issue and shall be highly interactive and informative. Over a period of time, the channel will become the most dependable source of information in Marathi across Media. The channel will focus on Maharashtra and not only on Mumbai” Said, Nikhil Wagle, Editor, IBN-Lokmat.

Sharing his views on the channel, Rajdeep Sardesai, Editor-in-Chief, IBN Network said, “IBN-Lokmat will be tailored on the lines of CNN-IBN and IBN7 and hence the spotlight will continue to stay rooted on the journalistic spirit of ‘Whatever it Takes’. With editorial integration between GBN and Lokmat, we hope to become the voice of Maharashtra and the channel’s content will not only reflect the mood of the viewers, but will also successfully influence popular opinion”.

The programming will be informative with a holistic mix of news from across genres including local, regional, national, international, sports, movies, theatre, fashion, etc. and will cater to a myriad of audiences across the Marathi speaking belt. A list of some of IBN-Lokmat’s show can be found in the annexure attached.

Commenting on the joint venture, Vijay Darda, Chairman, Lokmat Group said, “The joint-venture will blend together Lokmat's reach and understanding of the Marathi mind and GBN’s world class standards to create a credible Marathi news channel. I am confident that this relationship will further expand and strengthen this endeavour that is IBN-Lokmat.”

GLOBAL BROADCAST NEWS (GBN, A NETWORK 18 GROUP COMPANY) ANNOUNCES CONSOLIDATION OF IBN 7.
IBN 7 TO BE MERGED WITH GBN, GBN STOCK SPLIT 5:1

December 19, 2007

The Network 18 Group announced the complete consolidation of the 24 hour Hindi news channel, IBN-7 with GBN, the Group’s general news arm. The Channel is currently housed in a joint venture with Gupta family, the promoters of Dainik Jagran.

GBN had earlier announced the acquisition of equity stake held by New Vernon in IBN-7 and its Board today approved a Scheme of Arrangement, in terms of which the IBN-7 Channel will be consolidated with GBN. BMR Advisors acted as the transaction and financial advisors for the consolidation.

The consolidation is subject to relevant regulatory and stakeholder approvals. Pursuant to the consolidation, it is intended that 1,467,390 equity shares of Rs 10 each of GBN (being 4. 45% of GBN’s Capital on a fully diluted basis after effect of the Scheme and the exercise of 3,000,000 warrants by the promoters ) be issued to the Gupta family in consideration of the consolidation. A further 1,793,478 equity shares of Rs 10 each of GBN are proposed to be held in a Trust – which Trust shall be capable of monetizing this stake, for the benefit of GBN’s shareholders.

The Board also accorded approval for sub-division of the nominal value of its equity share from the present Rs 10 per share to Rs 2 per share resulting in a 5 for 1 stock split. The stock split will be subject to shareholders approval, which will be sought through a postal ballot and will then apply in respect of the shares to be issued on the consolidation as well.

GBN is currently listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange.

GBN owns and operates one of India's leading 24-hour English language news and current affairs channel, CNN IBN, and is a market leader in this category. The Company is also entering the regional news space with the launch of a Marathi news channel with Lokmat Group. This consolidation is part of the vision of GBN to emerge as an integrated player in the Indian General News Broadcasting Segment having news and current affairs channels in various languages.

About Network 18:

Network18 is one of India's leading full play media conglomerates with interests in television, internet, filmed entertainment, mobile content and allied businesses. Through it’s holding in Television Eighteen India Ltd (TV18), Network18 operates India’s leading business news television channels, CNBC-TV18 and CNBC Awaaz. It also runs India’s leading Internet company Web18, as well as one of India’s leading real time news terminal providers, Newswire18. Through its holding in Global Broadcast News Ltd (GBN), Network18 operates in the general news and entertainment space with general news channels CNN-IBN and IBN7, and operates a joint venture with Viacom, called Viacom18. This JV operates the MTV, VH1 and Nickelodeon channels in India - as also Studio18, the Group’s filmed entertainment operation and will be launching a Hindi general entertainment channel. Additionally, Network18 holds the Group’s online & on-air home shopping venture, Homeshop18. The group has recently moved into print with the acquisition of Infomedia, which is a leading player in the Indian publishing space with several magazines & runs one of the largest printing operations in the country and announced a collaboration with Forbes, one of the leading business magazine brands in the world. The Group is also moving towards operationalizing a 50:50 joint venture initiative in the business print space with Jagran Prakashan Limited. The primary mandate of this JV will be to launch a Hindi business daily for the Indian market in 2008.The Group has announced forays, organic and inorganic, into event management, regional news and other areas.

TV18, a Network18 group company & JAGRAN PRAKASHAN
announce category creating JV. To launch India’s first Hindi business daily

December 18, 2007

Network18, India’s leading media conglomerate and Jagran Prakashan (JPL), one of India’s most acclaimed print majors & publisher of India’s largest read daily ‘Dainik Jagran’ have announced a 50:50 joint venture initiative in the business print space. The primary mandate of this JV will be to launch a Hindi business daily for the Indian market in 2008. Subsequently, this will be followed by other Indian language dailies focused on financial and economic news

This JV will in effect create a new category of local language business dailies within the India print space, as this will be the first Hindi business paper to hit the market nationally. This venture also marks an expansion of print offerings from Network18 into the dailies space, post the recent announcement of its magazine publishing arrangement with Forbes media and ownership control of Infomedia, India’s leading publishers in the B2B media space. This venture is also a reiteration of JPL’s intent and commitment to provide its readers news and information in all genres.

The venture has been positioned to benefit from the respective competencies of TV18 & Jagran Prakashan. Television Eighteen (TV18) is a recognized leader in the business media space, with a roster of brands across television, online and information terminal platforms such as CNBC-TV18 & CNBC AWAAZ which are India’s leading business channels, Moneycontrol.com which is India’s No.1 financial news & information portal and Newswire18, India’s leading real time news & data platform.Jagran Prakashan Limited publishes “Dainik Jagran”,India’s largest read daily besides recently launched youth oriented compacts “I-Next” and “City Plus”. TV18 shall bring forth its expertise in business content to the JV, while JPL shall bring forth its print competencies including operational expertise, print and related infrastructure and distribution to the venture. Both TV18 & JPL have agreed to co-promote the offerings under the venture and exploit cross platform synergy opportunities present from both sides. It is noteworthy that 3 years ago, TV18 had launched CNBC AWAAZ, a consumer focused business channel, to cater to the needs of the Hindi business viewer. It soon emerged as a leader in the Hindi business news segment & a major contributor to the expansion of business audiences in the country.

Mahendra Mohan Gupta, CMD, Jagran Prakashan Limited said “Our leadership in the Indian print space will further be strengthened with the launch of business dailies. This venture is based on a commonness of vision we share with TV18 on a strong need for a high quality business print offering in Hindi and other languages. Our experience in the language media space has revealed a growing interest in specialized business news & information, which, this vehicle will enable us to cater. I am confident that we will live upto the expectations of our readers as hitherto and expand the financial market, in the geographies that are going to play a crucial role in the economic growth of the country in times to come”.

Commenting on this announcement, Raghav Bahl, MD, Network18 added “The fact that ‘Bharat’ is rapidly emerging as the key driver of the Indian economic opportunity is fairly evident. In recent years, business audiences have grown immensely in the Hindi heartland and regional markets, reflecting a democratization of enterprise & wealth creation across the nation. The leadership of CNBC AWAAZ is a strong affirmation of this new reality as well as indicative of a great need for language products across the business media spectrum. We are delighted to partner Jagran Prakashan as it will allow us to fulfill this need powerfully in the print space, by combining TV18’s strengths in business content with Jagran’s intimate understanding of print markets”

The JV will be governed by a board, comprising of representatives from TV18 & Jagran Prakashan, which will oversee management plans and execution. The operational specifics in terms of brand name for the business daily, selection of the editorial and business team and so on is in the process of being formalized. The JV will be funded through an initial equity infusion from both sides followed by internal accruals & debt financing in the later stage.

ABOUT JAGRAN PRAKASHAN

Jagran Prakashan Limited is a leading media house of India which publishes Dainik Jagran, India's largest read daily with a total readership of 53.6 million readers (IRS 2007 R2). It was also voted the most credible and trusted newspaper in India, according to a survey by Globscan, conducted in 10 of the world's leading countries, including the US, UK, Germany and Russia. In addition to Dainik Jagran, Jagran Prakashan is also a publisher of I-Next, a fast growing daily, City Plus an English infotainment weekly, Sakhi a monthly magazine targeted at women and various other journals and statistical compilation. Jagran Prakashan Limited provides outdoor advertising through Jagran Engage, event management services through Jagran Solutions, and IVR/AVR/SMS services through short code 57272 across the country. Jagran Prakashan Limited has its presence in web space through its dedicated arm J9 and has in association with Yahoo India a co- branded Hindi news portal jagran.yahoo .in which has enjoyed the status of most visited Hindi news portal in the world.

ABOUT NETWORK18

Network18 is one of India's leading full play media conglomerates with interests in television, internet, filmed entertainment, mobile content and allied businesses. Through its holding in Television Eighteen India Ltd (TV18), Network18 operates India’s leading business news television channels, CNBC-TV18 and CNBC Awaaz. It also runs India’s leading Internet company Web18, as well as one of India’s leading real time news terminal providers, Newswire18. Through its holding in Global Broadcast News Ltd (GBN), Network18 operates in the general news and entertainment space with general news channels CNN-IBN and IBN7, and operates a joint venture with Viacom, called Viacom18. This JV operates the MTV, VH1 and Nickelodeon channels in India - as also Studio18, the Group’s filmed entertainment operation and will be launching a Hindi general entertainment channel. Additionally, Network18 holds the Group’s online & on-air retail venture, Homeshop18. The group has recently acquired Infomedia, which is a leading player in the Indian publishing space with several magazines & runs one of the largest printing operations in the country. The Group has announced forays, organic and inorganic, into event management, regional news and other areas.

TV18 (Network18 Group Company) and FORBES ink strategic alliance– Plan to launch business magazine in India in early 2008

Haresh Chawla, Group CEO, Network18 & William P.Adamopoulos, President & Publisher, Forbes Asia

TV18, a group company of NETWORK18, India’s leading media conglomerate, is all set to launch a business magazine in India in partnership with FORBES MEDIA, one of the world’s most respected business publishers. The partnership will include a content licensing arrangement and will also envisage introduction of other Forbes products, subject to regulatory approval.

This partnership further enhances and complements TV18’s strong business offerings in the television and internet space. Currently, TV18 operates India’s leading business channels CNBC-TV18 and CNBC Awaaz, besides Newswire18 and a host of web properties like moneycontrol.com. The partnership with Forbes will bring in strengths in the print space and will synergize well with its television and new media properties. It will also complement TV18’s recent acquisition of Infomedia, which is India’s leading player in the publishing space with several magazines and runs one of India’s largest printing operations.

Forbes magazine itself is a legendary business brand celebrating 90 years of existence this year. It enjoys a loyal following amongst a 5-million strong global audience comprising of business leaders, entrepreneurs, corporate executives and upwardly mobile professionals. In recent years, Forbes magazine has increased its international presence with highly successful titles such as ‘Forbes Asia’ and licensed local language editions such as ‘Forbes China’, ‘Forbes Russia’ ‘Forbes Arabia’ amongst others. Forbes magazine is renowned for its wide array of business content ranging from leadership, finance & international business to marketing, technology & entrepreneurship. It has also diversified into being a globally accepted benchmark for quality & performance with its famous lists covering companies, people & places, education, personal finance, sports, lifestyle & technology, apart from special reports.

Commenting on this partnership, Raghav Bahl, MD, Network18 said “Our partnership with Forbes for a business magazine in India is another compelling testimony to the growing acceptance of the Indian growth story worldwide. Rapid economic expansion, change in consumer mindsets and deepening of the market economy in the country have led to an enabling environment for business brands. We will be strongly positioned to deliver a benchmark offering in the market by fusing the strong editorial and brand lineage of Forbes and our proven expertise in the Indian business media market”

Said Steve Forbes, Chairman, CEO and Editor-in-Chief, Forbes on the partnership, “India is one of the prime markets Forbes has wanted to enter for sometime. We were waiting for the right partner and are so pleased that we have reached a partnership agreement with Network18, one of the most respected and fastest-growing media companies in India. We look forward to making Forbes available to this forceful market soon.”

Haresh Chawla, Group CEO, Network18 further added “Forbes is an ideal partner for us as we expand our competencies into the print medium and thus strengthen our position as one of India’s leading full play media conglomerates. India’s readership potential is yet to be fully tapped and as the market evolves, credible and strong brands will succeed in the print space. With our experience in business media as well also our ability to deploy global media brands successfully in the Indian market, we are confident of an enriching association with Forbes. We see a lot of opportunity for value creation in this partnership by unleashing cross platform synergies and developing a roster of market leading offerings in the coming years. The addition of Forbes will further energize our business portfolio which already commands leadership through CNBC-TV18 & CNBC AWAAZ, Newswire18 and web offerings such as moneycontrol.com, indiaearnings.com”

"As the world's foremost champion of entrepreneurial capitalism, we at Forbes are excited to partner with the accomplished media entrepreneurs at Network18 to bring the Forbes brand and style of journalism to India - home of many of the world’s greatest entrepreneurs" said William Adamopoulos, President and Publisher of Forbes Asia. "This partnership in India complements and builds upon our existing Pan-Asian network of Forbes Asia, Forbes China, Forbes Korea and Forbes Nihonban.”

ABOUT NETWORK18:

Network18 is one of India's leading full play media conglomerates with interests in television, internet, filmed entertainment, mobile content and allied businesses. Through it’s holding in Television Eighteen India Ltd (TV18), Network18 operates India’s leading business news television channels, CNBC-TV18 and CNBC Awaaz. It also runs India’s leading Internet company Web18, as well as one of India’s leading real time news terminal providers, Newswire18. Through its holding in Global Broadcast News Ltd (GBN), Network18 operates in the general news and entertainment space with general news channels CNN-IBN and IBN7, and operates a joint venture with Viacom, called Viacom18. This JV operates the MTV, VH1 and Nickelodeon channels in India - as also Studio18, the Group’s filmed entertainment operation and will be launching a Hindi general entertainment channel. Additionally, Network18 holds the Group’s online & on-air retail venture, Homeshop18. The group has recently acquired Infomedia, which is a leading player in the Indian publishing space with several magazines & runs one of the largest printing operations in the country. The Group has announced forays, organic and inorganic, into event management, regional news and other areas.

ABOUT FORBES MEDIA:

Forbes Media was formed in August 2006 as a result of an investment in Forbes by Elevation Partners, in which the private equity firm became a minority shareholder in a newly formed company, encompassing Forbes magazine, Forbes.com and other media properties. Forbes.com reaches in excess of 20 million people monthly. Forbes is the publisher of Forbes, the nation’s leading business magazine - celebrating its 90th anniversary in 2007- and its international edition, Forbes Asia, which together reach a worldwide audience of nearly five million readers. Forbes.com is the company’s Internet business, which is the homepage for the world’s business leaders and the #1 business site on the Web. The company also publishes Forbes Life and Forbes Life Executive Woman. Forbes’ local-language editions include: Forbes Nihonban, Forbes Korea, Forbes China, Forbes Russia, Forbes Arabia, Forbes Israel, Forbes Poland and Forbes Turkey.

Network18 Group Forays into Publishing
Television 18 India Ltd. Acquires Strategic Control of Infomedia India Ltd.

Delhi, Mumbai, December 12, 2007:

TV 18 has announced the acquisition of at least 53 percent stake in Infomedia India Ltd., India’s leading publication company from an ICICI Venture managed fund. The stake shall be purchased in a staggered manner – 40 percent immediately, followed by an open offer for 20 percent of Infomedia. In the event that the open offer does not garner enough response, then TV 18 has the right to purchase such number of shares from the ICICI Venture managed fund so as to augment its stake up to at least 53 percent. The transaction is subject to statutory and regulatory clearances, wherever necessary.

TV18 has acquired the above 40 percent stake for a total purchase consideration of Rs. 178 crores. This acquisition would enable TV 18 to enter the fast growing publication businesses. TV18 will also benefit from the cross media leverage of its existing brands. YES Bank was the exclusive financial advisor to ICICI Venture Ltd. and BMR Advisors assisted TV18 for the transaction.

Infomedia India Ltd has further agreed to issue 50 lakh warrants to TV 18 and 10 lakh warrants to the ICICI Venture managed fund. This issue is as per SEBI pricing norms and this fresh infusion of funds will be used to propel further growth in Infomedia.

Recognizing this as a significant milestone, Mr. Raghav Bahl – Managing Director, Network18 said, “This acquisition signifies our commitment to being an integrated player in the media and publishing space. This acquisition has come at an opportune time and will significantly accelerate our publishing growth plans.”

Haresh Chawla, Group CEO, Network18 , said, “Infomedia has carved a niche for itself with its exciting array of publishing assets and national footprint. The fresh infusion of funds, combined with the strong management team at Infomedia will form a potent combination, thereby enabling the company to significantly leverage Network 18’s strengths in the television, internet and mobile businesses.”

Excited at the prospects of being part of a larger media group, Prakash Iyer, Managing Director of Infomedia said that ‘We are excited about TV 18’s strategic acquisition of Infomedia and look forward to building a bigger organization. Infomedia is already a leading publishing player and this acquisition will enhance the marketing of our value added offerings, which will be extremely relevant in a rapidly changing Indian media market. Our success today is largely also attributable to the continued support and commitment that ICICI Venture has provided to Infomedia’.

Infomedia is one of the first leveraged buyouts in India led by ICICI Venture. The sale process of ICICI Venture’s stake had witnessed strong interests from several strategic and financial investors, including international majors. ICICI Venture’s Managing Director and CEO, Ms. Renuka Ramnath said "This is definitely a landmark deal in the fast growing media and publishing space between two leading players in the industry. Since the buyout, we have worked hard with the management to build a unique business model that is profitable and scalable. We believe that Infomedia is an excellent platform for TV Eighteen to meet its leadership aspirations in the media and publication space.’ This is the second successful leveraged buyout exit by ICICI Venture in the recent past (earlier one being Ace Refractories), indicating the fund’s ability to buy out companies, scale them up and make successful exits.

About Network18

Network18 is one of India's leading full play media conglomerates with interests in television, internet, filmed entertainment, mobile content and allied businesses. Through its holding in Television Eighteen India Ltd (TV18), Network18 operates India's leading business news television channels - CNBC TV18 and CNBC Awaaz. It also runs India's leading Internet company Web18, as well as one of India's leading real time news terminal providers, Newswire18. Through its holding in Global Broadcast News Ltd (GBN), Network18 operates in the general news and entertainment space with general news channels CNN-IBN and IBN7, and operates a joint venture with Viacom called Viacom18. This JV operates the MTV, VH1 and Nickelodeon channels in India - as also Studio18, the Group's filmed entertainment operation and will be launching a Hindi general entertainment channel. Additionally, Network18 holds the Group's online & on-air retail venture, Homeshop18. The Group has recently announced forays, organic and inorganic, into event management, regional news and other areas.

About ICICI Venture

ICICI Venture is one of the largest and most successful private equity firms in India with funds under management in excess of USD 2 billion. Its investment focus areas span across private equity, buyouts, real estate and mezzanine financing. ICICI Venture, over the years has built an enviable portfolio of companies across sectors including media, pharmaceuticals, Information Technology, manufacturing, logistics, textiles, real estate etc thereby building sustainable value.

About Infomedia India Ltd.

Infomedia India Limited is India’s leading media company with strong market presence in diverse business areas spanning Business Directories, Magazine Publishing, Printing Services and Publishing Outsourcing. A pan-Indian network covering 22 cities and over 1,600 employees gives Infomedia a national footprint. The Company is the undisputed market leader in Yellow Pages and Special Interest Publishing and one of the most respected contract printers in the country. Infomedia has recently forayed into the Publishing Outsourcing segment and is well-placed to consolidate its position in this booming market with tremendous growth potential. For the year 2006-07, the Company had a turnover of Rs 2.0 billion and an EBITDA of Rs. 357 million.

TV18 Group is now Network18

New Delhi, September 9, 2007

Starting September 9, the TV18 Group, India’s fastest growing media conglomerate, will be rechristened ‘Network18’.

Network18, will unveil a new corporate identity for the Group which today has a market capitalization of over US$ 2 billion and an industry defying growth rate.

The new Network18 branding will unify all current and future entities of the erstwhile TV18 Group under a single, unified umbrella. Existing companies such as TV18, GBN, Web18, Homeshop18, Viacom18, Studio18, Events18 etc will reflect the new corporate identity.

Today, Network18 has businesses straddling filmed entertainment, news television, music television, news portals, mobile content, on-air / online shopping, show ticketing, jobs and travel portals, real time data terminals, TV channel distribution, event management and more. Network18 is also probably the only entity in the world, which has partnered three global media giants – NBC, Time Warner and Viacom.

Simple yet striking, the new red and white Network18 logo reflects the company’s brand identity - a window to an ever-changing world - in addition to connoting the stature and ambitions of this emerging global media corporation. The re-branding, designed by India's leading brand identity consultants, Ray + Keshavan, encapsulates the essence of the network through three essential tenets – Simple yet striking, the new red and white Network18 logo reflects the company’s brand identity - a window to an ever-changing world - in addition to connoting the stature and ambitions of this emerging global media corporation. The re-branding, designed by India's leading brand identity consultants, Ray + Keshavan, encapsulates the essence of the network through three essential tenets – Enable, Enlighten, Entertain.

Speaking on the occasion of the company’s anniversary, Raghav Bahl, Managing Director, Network18 said, “We have come a long way since TV18 began in 1992 as a small production house. From television news to filmed entertainment, Network18 leaves little untouched and unconquered, thus taking it a step closer to becoming the undisputed media mega brand! Despite our rapid growth and diversification, the one thing that has not changed, is our vision to be ‘better than the best’ and to continuously set new standards in this fast growing industry.”

“Network18 has built some of the most enviable media brands and audience franchises in India and we continue to work aggressively towards building India’s finest truly multi-platform media conglomerate. The new Network18 identity unites our over 3000 strong team and operations with a common set of values and aligns them behind a common purpose. The unified identity will help us harness the power of our individual brands and build an even stronger relationship with all our stakeholders. It is an exhilarating moment for all of us” added Haresh Chawla, Group CEO, Network18.

“Network18 embodies all the attributes of a start-up and combines it with the power to Enable, Enlighten and Entertain every Indian. Over the past decade, the Group has been able to empower more than 80 million Indians. The re-energised entity will aim to reach out to a much larger audience in India and globally. In the process, we also hope to make Network18 the first truly Indian, global media company” said, B. Sai Kumar, Group COO, Network18.

About Network18 Network18 is one of India's leading full play media conglomerates with interests in television, internet, filmed entertainment, mobile content and allied businesses. Through its holding in Television Eighteen India Ltd (TV18), Network18 operates India’s leading business news television channels - CNBC TV18 and CNBC Awaaz. It also runs India’s leading Internet company Web18, as well as one of India’s leading real time news terminal providers, Newswire18. Through its holding in Global Broadcast News Ltd (GBN), Network18 operates in the general news and entertainment space with general news channels CNN-IBN and IBN7, and has announced a joint venture with Viacom to be called Viacom18. This JV will operate the MTV, VH1 and Nickelodeon channels in India - as also Studio18, the Group’s filmed entertainment operation and will be launching a Hindi general entertainment channel. Additionally, Network18 holds the Group’s online & on-air retail venture, Homeshop18. The Group has recently announced forays, organic and inorganic, into event management, regional news and other areas.

Network18 - The Holding Company of TV18 and Global Broadcast News

Group Revenues at Rs 966.47 mn for Q1
Operating Profit Rs 84.21 mn, Operating Margin 8.71%

Friday, July 27, 2007

Highlights:
NOTE: TV18 (including Web18 and Newswire18) and GBN results published separately

1 ) The Network received 18 News Television Awards; more than any other network in India. CNN-IBN received the award for Best English News Channel.

2) Business News Operations maintained their number one position in the genre. CNBC-TV18 and CNBC-Awaaz together lead the Business News genre with over 2/3rd market share.

3) CNBC-Awaaz becomes the first choice of the affluent Hindi speaking audience

4) Moneycontrol.com received more page views per million than wsj.com almost for the entire quarter. Ibnlive.com is ahead of ndtv.com in daily page views.

5) Homeshop18 has built the capacity to reach over 2000 towns in India.

6) Studio18, a division of Network18, released movies in domestic and international theaters. Entered into a special relationship with TIFC – a £ 55 mn fund listed on AIM of London Stock Exchange.

7) Newswire18's revenues surged more than 70% on a QoQ basis; over 1000 terminals installed in “free trial” phase – the number of terminals under full billing are ahead of the Business Plan

Following the meeting of the Sub-Committee of the Board of Directors, Raghav Bahl, Network18’s Managing Director said: “We are extremely happy with this quarter’s performance at the Group’s Holding Company. Our Business News and General News Channels are doing exceptionally well. The Internet properties have started posting robust revenues bringing down the losses. HomeShop18 is continuously reaching new territories.”

Network18 Fincap Limited Consolidated Financial Performance (Unaudited Consolidated) for the quarter ended 30th June 2007

Particulars	Q1- 2007-08
Revenue from Operations	966.47
Operating Expense	882.26
Operating Profit	84.21
Operating Margin	8.71%
Extra-ordinary Income (on foreign currency hedge & INR debt derivatives)	35.86
Non recurring Operational Expense (WIP of 14 films transferred)	(244.01)
Net Non recurring Profit	34.16

Total Operating profit	154.23

Net Outflow on Revenue Share with CNBC & CNN	(42.41)
Interest/Income from Investments	72.31
Interest Expense	(139.07)
Interest (Net)	(66.76)
Depreciation	(76.39)

Total Profit Before Tax, Minority Interest and ESOP Charge Out	(31.33)

Provision for Current Tax/FBT	14.46
Profits after tax (before minority interest and ESOP charge out)	(45.79)
Minority Interest	(14.66)
Profits after tax and minority interest (before ESOP charge out)	(31.13)
ESOP charge out	(79.17)
Profits after tax and ESOP charge out	(110.30)
Exchange Fluctuations	(3.70)
Profits after Exchange Fluctuations	(106.60)
Provision for Deferred tax
Net Profit after Deferred Tax	(106.60)
Paid up Equity Share Capital	254.32
EPS (Rs.) without ESOP charge out	(0.54)
EPS (Rs.) with ESOP charge out	(2.10)

For further information on Business & Operations contact:
Haresh Chawla, CEO
Tel: 022-2490 0413
Fax: 022-5661 8984
e-mail:haresh.chawla@tv18online.com

For further information on financials contact:
R D S Bawa, CFO
Tel: 0120-5341717
Fax: 0120-5324110
e-mail:rds.bawa@tv18online.com

Download Report

VIACOM AND THE TV18 GROUP ANNOUNCE CREATION OF NEW JOINT VENTURE IN INDIA: VIACOM-18

Strategic Alliance to Include Launch of New General Entertainment Channel, Film Production and Distribution & Growth of MTV Networks India’s Multi-Platform Services

Partnership to Build India’s Leading Multi-Platform Entertainment Company

Mumbai/New York, 22 May 2007
Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA and VIA.B) and the TV18 Group announced today the creation of a new 50/50 joint venture operation in India, Viacom-18. The strategic alliance will include television, film and digital media content across numerous brands to build India’s leading multi-platform entertainment company. The partnership was announced today at a press conference in Mumbai, India by Philippe Dauman, President & Chief Executive Officer of Viacom, and Raghav Bahl, Managing Director of the TV18 Group. . This transaction is subject to regulatory approval and other closing conditions.

An additional teleconference for media will take place on 22nd May 2007 at 3:00pm Mumbai time (10:30am London/5:30pm Hong Kong). Speakers and dial-in details are at the bottom of this release. The teleconference will also be available for replay.

As part of the agreement, Viacom-18 will launch a new Hindi-language general entertainment cable and satellite channel in India within the next year. It will include original, locally produced programming and acquisitions. MTV Networks (MTVN), a unit of Viacom, will contribute its successful local networks, MTV, Vh1 and Nickelodeon India, to the joint venture. Viacom-18 will also launch a further suite of targeted channels in the future from the MTV Networks portfolio, as well as new brands. Digital media content across all of the television brands will be developed and distributed to Indian consumers. The joint venture will also syndicate MTVN programming and newly produced content.

The TV18 Group will contribute its Motion Pictures division operation to the joint venture, which produces, acquires and distributes Hindi-language films. Additional cooperation in the Indian market beyond this alliance includes joint ownership of the management company for The Indian Film Company, which is in the process of being listed on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) of the London Stock Exchange. In the coming months, Viacom’s Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks studios will explore additional opportunities for collaboration with Viacom-18.

“India is one of Viacom’s priority markets for expansion internationally,” commented Mr. Dauman. “This partnership will transform and significantly enlarge our business to offer audiences greater content diversity across platforms, and opportunities for advertisers to reach the full spectrum of demographics. The film operation for Viacom-18 will provide strong synergies with the TV and digital media business, as well as complement our Paramount and DreamWorks studios. We are delighted to enter into this partnership with TV18, the most forward-looking, entrepreneurial media company in India.”

Commenting on the partnership, Raghav Bahl, MD of the TV18 Group, said: “Having established leadership in news broadcasting and consumer Internet business, the TV18 Group was poised to make an ambitious entry into the multi-platform entertainment space. We are delighted to do this in partnership with Viacom, easily among the most successful entertainment companies on our globe. We are confident that Viacom-18 will entertain India’s burgeoning film and television audiences. Viacom-18 will also propel the TV18 Group into the league of a truly diversified and broad-based media conglomerate.”

“MTV Networks is a pioneer in creating locally customized channels around the world, and this alliance continues that tradition and accelerates our long-term growth in India,” said Judy McGrath, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, MTV Networks. “The partnership reinforces our vision to be the premier provider of diverse, compelling entertainment experiences to audiences globally across every platform.”

“We have a long history of doing business in India, and it has become an integral part of our global network,” commented Bill Roedy, Vice Chairman, MTV Networks. “It has also been a tremendous source of creative and cultural inspiration to our global network for many years. This joint venture recognises our long-term commitment to the Indian market. By combining our successful MTVN India business with assets from the TV18 Group, we will also support the robust film and TV production industry, as well as fuel the explosive growth of digital media. We are excited to partner with TV18, one of the industry’s most dynamic companies, to serve Indian audiences across every screen.”

“The entertainment space offers significant opportunities and this partnership gives us the scale to compete and the edge to achieve leadership position. Viacom-18 will build and nurture communities across platforms much like TV18 has successfully done in the news space. We intend to exploit the compelling demographic synergies between our news channels and Viacom-18’s entertainment offerings,” commented Haresh Chawla, Group CEO, TV18.

The TV18 Group, subject to regulatory approvals, proposes to eventually house its investment in this joint venture through its general broadcast subsidiary – GBN.

“To take leadership in the dynamic entertainment industry, a business needs superior capabilities across content creation, brand building and distribution. The Viacom-18 joint venture brings together the unique strengths of two formidable partners, thus forming a multimedia entertainment powerhouse that will have a competitive advantage in serving the needs of both viewers and advertisers,” said Amit Jain, Managing Director, MTV Networks India and Executive Vice President, MTV Networks Asia.

Further announcements about Viacom-18, including management and content plans, will be made in the coming weeks.

This transaction was supported by Ambit Corporate Finance Pte Ltd and BMR Advisors.

Teleconference Information
A teleconference will take place to discuss the joint venture on 22nd May at 3:00pm Mumbai time (10:30am London/5:30pm Hong Kong), featuring Viacom’s Philippe Dauman, TV18 Group’s Raghav Bahl and MTV Networks’ Bill Roedy. The call will be replayed throughout the day, and a transcript will be available for media. To dial-in to the teleconference, please follow the below instructions using the password inside or outside India:

Press located in India:
Toll Free Dial-in Number: 0008001006243 (No country code needed)
International Dial-in Number From India: +1 706 902 0754
Password: Viacom Press Conference
Note: The Toll Free Number (0008001006243) may not work on mobile phones in India using the cellular provider Bharti/Airtel. You may contact Bharti/Airtel to ask them to unblock this number or use the international dial-in number

Press located outside of India:
International Dial-in Number: +1 706 902 0754
Password: Viacom Press Conference

Teleconference Replay Number:
+1 706 645 9291

About MTV Networks in India
MTV Networks in India comprises the industry’s most engaging multi-platform entertainment brands, including MTV: Music Television, Vh1 and Nick. Launched in 1996, MTV is India’s leading multimedia youth platform aimed at 15-34 year-olds with a mixture of local music and long-form programming, reaching 29 million cable and satellite households and via www.mtvindia.com and mobile. Vh1 was launched in 2005 and is India’s only international music and lifestyle channel seen in nearly 19 million households. Nick is a Hindi-language network for kids seen in more than 23 million households. Launched in 1999, Nick features local favourites The Munnabhai Show, Perman and Ninja Hattori as well as international hit shows such as Dora the Explorer, SpongeBob SquarePants and Jimmy Neutron.

About Viacom and MTV Networks
Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B) is a leading global entertainment content company, with prominent and respected brands. Engaging its audiences through television, motion pictures and digital platforms, Viacom seeks to reach its audiences however they consume content. Viacom’s leading brands include the multiplatform properties of MTV Networks, including MTV, VH1, CMT: Country Music Television, Logo, Nickelodeon, Nick at Nite, COMEDY CENTRAL, Spike TV, TV Land, and more than 130 networks around the world, as well as digital assets such as MTV.com, comedycentral.com, VSPOT, TurboNick, Neopets, Xfire and iFilm; BET Networks; Paramount Pictures; DreamWorks; and Famous Music. More information about Viacom and its businesses is available at www.viacom.com.

About TV18 Group
Television Eighteen Group (TV18) is India's fastest growing media and entertainment company. It is a leader in news broadcasting with team of 3000 people spread across the country in 30 bureau locations (4 of which are overseas). It has established 125,000 sq. ft. of fully integrated broadcast infrastructure, including state-of-the-art hubs in Mumbai and Delhi. TV18 is the only media company in the globe to have partnered with two of the world’s largest media conglomerates. Its leading business news channels, CNBC-TV18 and CNBC Awaaz, are in a partnership with NBC Universal – a USD 13 bn company. Its general news channel, CNN-IBN, is a partnership with Time Warner, the world’s largest media conglomerate. Apart from these three channels, its Network also includes IBN7, a leading Hindi general news channel in partnership with the Jagran Group, owners of India’s largest Hindi language daily.

WEB18, of the TV18 Group, is a leading player in the Internet space in India. It runs moneycontrol.com, which is India’s most influential and widely used financial, business and investor platform with more than 5 million users. Apart from this, WEB18 runs commoditiescontrol.com – India’s leading source for authentic and real-time commodity information, ibnlive.com – India’s leading general news portal, poweryourtrade.com – a paid equity news and information site, easymf.com – a mutual funds advisory & tracking service, indiaearnings.com – India’s most credible and exclusive earnings information destination for companies and institutional investors, tech2.com – a leading personal technology website, cricketnext.com – India’s leading cricket website, compareindia.com – India’s leading online product comparison destination. TV18 Group is also a significant stakeholder in Jobstreet India, an e-recruitment portal, Yatra.in which is a leading provider of online travel services and Big Tree entertainment, an industry leader in movie & entertainment ticketing.

TV18 Group owns the country’s first fully integrated Home Shopping Network (HSN) comprising a home shopping channel and online venture. TV18 Group also owns Newswire 18, India’s first real time news & data platform

Collectively, the TV18 Group services more than 70 million adults with the ‘power to spend’. For more information, visit http://www.tv18online.com.

IBNLive.com
Just over one year old, IBNLive.com has successfully established itself as India’s premier news portal. The Citizen Journalist initiative, ensuring interactivity, remains at the core of CNN-IBN’s journalistic values. The website is also at the cutting edge of technology with cross-platform offerings like podcasts, mobile alerts, live streaming and RSS and XML feeds.

IBNLive.com receives over 1.5 million average page views a day, and has a user base of over 4 million unique visitors a month.

Group
GBN is a part of the Television Eighteen Group (TV18), India's No.1 News & Information network, operating as a leading full play media entity across multiple platforms including television, internet, mobile and voice. The Group is the leading and most credible source of information for a diversified consumer base consisting of business and general audiences.

The Group owns and operates channels which include CNBC TV18, CNBC AWAAZ, CNN-IBN, and IBN 7, Internet portal sites including moneycontrol.com, ibnlive.com, easymf.com, indiaearnings.com, commoditiescontrol.com, tech2.com, compareindia.com, yatra.in, cricketnext.com, poweryourtrade.com, jobstreet.com. Other ventures of the Group include Newswire 18, Studio18, HomeShopping Network, Big Tree entertainment

DHL and CNBC-TV18 announce the first ever International Trade Awards 2006

Sigma Corporation is the Emerging Exporter of the Year

Outstanding of exporter of the year (Chemicals category) United Phosphorus and Godrej Industries

Mumbai, March 14, 2007:
The trade community has painstakingly built the much needed foreign exchange and has helped India take center stage as a global trade hub. These businessmen have acted as India's brand ambassadors and build a base from where others could take off on a strong footing globally.

Be it engineering goods, auto components, textiles, electronics, pharmaceuticals, Indian exporters have made their mark. Exports during April-October, 2005-2006 are valued at US $ 51516.87 million, which is 22.08% higher than the level of US $ 42200.62 million during April-October, 2004-2005.

This year, CNBC-TV18 and DHL, have come together to honor for the first time, the unofficial brand ambassadors from the exporting community, by hosting the International Trade Awards.

Commenting on the International Trade Awards 2006, Anil Uniyal, Head - Sales CNBC Universe said, “Homespun entrepreneurs with international focus have taken India to the world slowly and steadily, making the world aware of India’s strengths. Additionally they have given India the much needed foreign exchange. The CNBC-TV18 and DHL International Trade Awards, powered by ICRA, gives them recognition and legitimacy as well as easier access to capital, talent and technology. “

The awards aim at recognizing the entities with the most outstanding and consistent business and financial performance in its international trade category. The awards are targeted at exporters- manufacturers, service providers as well as international trade houses. Importers who create value and export content will also be considered.

The categories and winners for these awards are:

Outstanding of exporter of the year in the chemicals category	United Phosphorus and Godrej Industries
Engineering and Machine Tools category	L&T Ltd and JK Files & Tools
Agriculture, Food and FMCG	ITC Ltd and Jabs Intl
Textiles	Welspun India ltd and Dicitex Funishings ltd
IT,ITES & Electronics	TCS and Zensar Technologies
Auto & Auto Ancillaries	Hyundai Motor India Ltd
Pharmaceuticals, Healthcare and Life Sciences	CIPLA Ltd
Travel, Tourism & Hospitality	Indian hotels Company Ltd
Metals	Sterlite Industries (India) Limited
Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals	Reliance Industries
Diversified Category	Anugraha Valve Castings
Emerging Exporter of the year	Sigma Corporation

Applying companies were judged on their business position, financial position and management quality &systems.

Judging Parameters

Business Position

Export growth achieved and sustainability
Share of domestic exports
Quality and scope of export strategy
Evidence of sustainable of competitive advantage
Export diversity across countries/regions

Financial Position

Profitability
Capital structure and funding flexibility
Coverage
Liquidity
Cash generation

Management Quality and systems

Competence
Risk management and control
Systems and processes

About CNBC-TV18:
CNBC-TVI8 is India's No.1 business medium. CNBC-TV18 is the undisputed leader in the business. The channel's benchmark coverage extends from corporate news, financial markets coverage, expert perspective on investing and management to industry verticals and beyond. CNBC-TV18 has been constantly innovating with new genres of programming that helps make business more relevant to different constituencies across India. CNBC-TV18 is currently available in over 25 million households in India.

World’s largest cricket bat unveiled at the TV 18 and ‘LG Cheer for India’ finale

Mumbai, March 14, 2007:
For the final phase of its on-ground ‘LG Cheer for India’ campaign, the TV 18 Network had organised a grand event in Mumbai today that comprised a multitude of attractions to celebrate the spirit of Cricket on the opening day of the 2007 ICC World Cup. Cyrus Broacha was the host for the evening and did a fine job of keeping the audience in splits with his usual witticism and humour surrounding the theme of the hour – the Cricket World Cup! However, the highlight of the evening was the unveiling of the biggest Cricket bat in the history of the sport – something never before attempted by any news channel in the country! Measuring 65 feet in height (21.5 ft grip and 43.5 ft blade), this gigantic bat was proclaimed the largest of its kind in the World by officials of the Limca Book of Records, who were present at the venue. This extraordinary feat goes to show that the TV 18 Network shares the sentiments of Cricket lovers, truly making it the official network for the Indian Cricket fan.

In addition to what was clearly a spectacular sight, the evening’s festivities also included the convergence of the four ‘LG Cheer for India’ caravans, after travelling the length and breadth of the country, at the MMRDA Grounds (Bandra-Kurla Complex) in Mumbai where they did a lap-of-honour while being cheered on by hordes of spectators on the sidelines. Aboard these caravans were the giant bats signed by thousands of Cricket lovers from all across the country wishing their favourite team before the World Cup. The event brought together Mumbaikkars from all walks of life including numerous celebrities, from the Cricketing world (Krish Srikkanth and Yashpal Sharma – to name a few) as well as others, to come forth and sign the bats and convey their wishes to the ‘Men in Blue’ and join-in the evening’s revelry. Adding even more colour and rhythm to the occasion, was ‘Groove’ – a local rock band whose electrifying live performance took Cricket fever to an even higher plane!

The event and all its happenings will be showcased on air in a special ‘LG Cheer for India – the Great Indian Bat Show’, on March 16th at 8:30 pm on IBN 7 and 10 pm on CNN-IBN.

“The sheer success of our ‘LG Cheer for India’ campaign has proved once again that we’re a nation of Cricket lovers, where the sport is no less than a religion! The aim of the campaign was to not only garner support for our team in the World Cup, but also to create a sense of national pride.” Rajdeep Sardesai, Editor-in-Chief, CNN-IBN and IBN 7

“It has been a great opportunity to have partnered with LG Electronics for the Cheer for India campaign. This joint property’s pan-Indian nature has been a platform for Cricket fans to come together to wish their favourite players the very best. Upon witnessing the success of the 'LG Cheer for India' campaign I am confident we will have the chance to come together again with LG Electronics for other projects in the future."” Dilip Venkatraman, Director Marketing and Online Projects, CNN-IBN and IBN 7.

“Our alliance with the TV 18 Network has been a successful one, with which we are very pleased. The ‘LG Cheer for India’ property was devised to create fervour and excitement amongst fans across the nation for whom Cricket is a passion, especially with the unveiling the World’s biggest Cricket bat!” Sandeep Tiwari, Head of Marketing, LG India.

‘LG Cheer for India’ initiative was undertaken to salute the spirit and passion with which Cricket is associated in India. TV18 Network organised a unique and extraordinary pan-India campaign in partnership with LG Electronics, the global partner of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007, involving specially designed caravans that visited pre-determined locations in various cities in a bid to garner support for the Indian team. The ‘LG Cheer for India’ caravan activity started on March 5th when it began traversing the length & breadth of the country to cover Chennai, Delhi, Nagpur, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Pune and many other towns to finally culminate in Mumbai. These beguiling caravans carried with them a giant Cricket bat replica on which the die-hard fans, including celebrities, were encouraged to sign their wishes for Team India. While the caravans were parked at different venues across a particular city, fans came along to share their opinions and wishes for the Indian team that were also shared with the remainder of the country LIVE across the channels of the TV18 network during various time bands through the day.

The ‘LG Cheer for India’ campaign by TV 18 has comprised on-air, online and on-ground activities engaging the most die-hard of fans across the country, and has been the first of its kind undertaken by any news network in India. This initiative has truly been a multi-channel experience involving television, the Web as well as the mobile phone in brining viewers the best from the World Cup pitch!

ABOUT TELEVISION EIGHTEEN
Television Eighteen (TV18) is India’s No.1 News and Information Network, operating in the Television and Internet space. TV18 broadcasts four round-the-clock news channels and deploys content across multiple platforms like Television, Internet, Mobile and Voice. The company has an extensive network of more than 2000 media professionals spread across 30-bureaus in India and abroad. TV18 is the only media company in the world to have partnered with two of the world’s largest media conglomerates. Its leading business news channels, CNBC-TV18 and CNBC Awaaz, are in partnership with NBC Universal (a USD 13 billion company), which broadcasts CNBC – the world leader in business and financial news. TV18’s general news channel CNN-IBN is a partnership with Time Warner (the world’s largest media company), which broadcasts CNN – one of the world's most respected and trusted source for news and information. TV18 has added to its network, IBN 7, a leading Hindi general news channel in partnership with the Jagran Group, owners of India’s largest Hindi language daily. TV18 is a significant player in the Internet space in India. It is India’s only television company to have identified and built upon a variety of leading information and transactional services based on the Internet. Amongst its leading online properties are moneycontrol.com; India’s number one financial destination, also amongst the largest financial portals in the world and ibnlive.com, India’s leading interactive news portal

Online Division of Television Eighteen - WEB 18

TV18 is a significant player in the Internet space in India. It is India’s only television company to have identified and built upon a variety of leading information and transactional services based on the Internet.

MoneyControl.com: One of the world’s largest and India’s number one end-to-end business, stocks and personal- finance portal. More than five million users.

IBNLive.com: India’s leading and definitive news portal that provides dynamic multimedia content including streaming video feeds, breaking news, etc…from CNN-IBN and IBN 7.

Cricketnext.com: the fastest growing, interactive multimedia cricket portal with a focus on Indian cricket.

CommoditiesControl.com: Comprehensive portal on the Indian commodities space, providing real-time market price sensitive market information and analysis. India’s most credible source for commodities information.

PowerYourTrade.com: India’s leading financial advisory portal for equity investors and traders. More than 50,000 paid subscribers.

Easymf.com: A mutual funds advisory, tracking and transaction service, targeted at individual investors.

Indiaearnings.com: India’s most credible and exclusive earnings information destination for companies and institutional investors.

JobStreet.com: One of India's premier e-recruitment portals, JobStreet.com offers a comprehensive suite of interactive recruitment services.

Yatra.in: A very user-friendly travel site that provides travel information, and offers greats deals and packages, including reservations for airlines, hotels, railway etc.

Collectively, the TV18 Group services more than 70 million adults with the ‘power to spend’. For more information, visit http://www.tv18online.com.

ABOUT LG ELECTRONICS INDIA
LG Electronics India Pvt. Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of LG Electronics, South Korea was established in January 1997 in India. It is one of the most formidable brands in consumer electronics, home appliances, IT hardware and mobile communications space. In India for a decade, LG has earned a premium brand positioning and is the acknowledged trendsetter for the industry.

LGEIL has achieved a turnover of Rs 8250 crore in 2006. LGEIL's manufacturing unit at Greater Noida is one of the most eco-friendly units among all LG manufacturing plants in the world. The second Greenfield facility is located at Ranjangaon, Pune has the capacity to manufacture GSM Phones, Colour Televisions, Microwave Ovens, refrigerators and Optical Disc Drives. This is India's first mobile phone manufacturing unit and also Asia’s largest Optical Disc Drive manufacturing plant.

For further information please contact

Roshni Dhindsa, Parul Bhasin, PR Pundit
# 9810675710 / 9350265351

TV18 Group’s Internet Arm, Web18 takes a strategic stake in BigTree Entertainment, the industry leader in Movie and Entertainment Ticketing

Mumbai, India - February07, 2007:
The TV18 Group’s, Internet arm, Web18, today announced that it has acquired a majority stake in Bigtree Entertainment Pvt. Ltd., the industry leader in Movie and Entertainment Ticketing. This investment will further strengthen the Group’s position in the Internet and Mobile Transactions space.

Bigtree Entertainment Pvt Ltd. is India's premier comprehensive entertainment ticketing applications and solutions provider. The company was founded in 1999 during the nascent stages of the multiplex and live entertainment boom. Over the past 8 years, Bigtree has established a strong brand presence in the Indian market by offering its integrated entertainment ticketing solutions and services across 35 cities in India. Bigtree fulfills an important need for the entertainment industry by providing ticketing applications to cinemas and entertainment venues. This is done through a complete suite of software products ranging from box office ticketing, concessions management, web ticketing, mobile ticketing, loyalty management software, film programming, bar code ticketing, voucher management, etc. Bigtree also specializes in ticket selling services to end consumers. Cinemas and event organizers are offered a complete solution through 16 call centers, Internet ticketing and a mobile ticketing platform. The company provides the necessary software, processes, systems, door delivery options, cash collection, warehousing and accounting services, and currently handles over 2.5 million ticketing transactions annually for all major exhibition chains/centres across the country.

This acquisition strengthens Web18’s position in the e-transactions space, both on the PC as well as mobile phones. The company had acquired a significant stake in Yatra.com and Jobstreet.com India a few months ago.

According to Haresh Chawla, TV18 Group CEO, “this acquisition is in line with our strategy to strengthen our position in the Consumer Internet space. The Internet and Mobile markets are key to the Group’s future and growth.” Surya Mantha, CEO Web18 added: “Web18’s vision is to be the leader in the Consumer Internet Space. With the rapid increase in the number of multiplexes nationwide, digital screens and a host of other entertainment options including live shows, we believe that a Web18-Bigtree partnership is best positioned to build a brand that will become the destination for entertainment ticketing for cinema, live entertainment, sporting and shows.”

Ashish Hemrajani, the founder-CEO, Bigtree reiterated this sentiment by stating “In Web18, I am confident we have found the perfect partner who believes in the business and understands what it takes to build a successful and sustainable organization in India. With a sharp team backing TV18’s media and online businesses, we at Bigtree believe we can draw tremendously from those strengths and have some fun along the way in building India’s largest entertainment ticketing company. We will put in the necessary infrastructure, quality of service and marketing to ensure that consumers can reach us over voice, data and location options, be it a mobile phone, computer, landline phone or a convenient location.”

About TV18 Group
Television Eighteen (TV18) is India's No.1 broadcast news network with 125,000 sq. ft. of fully integrated broadcast infrastructure, including state-of-the-art hubs in Mumbai and Delhi. Its 2500+ team is spread across the country in 30 bureau locations (4 of which are overseas). TV18 is the only media company in the globe to have partnered with two of the world’s largest media conglomerates. Its leading business news channels, CNBC-TV18 and Awaaz, are in a partnership with NBC Universal - a USD 13 bn company. Its general news channel CNN-IBN is a partnership with Time Warner, the world’s largest media conglomerate. Apart from these three channels, its network also includes IBN 7, a leading Hindi general news channel in partnership with the Jagran Group, owners of India’s largest Hindi language daily. TV18 Group also owns Newswire 18, India’s first real time news & data platform and Studio18, a full spectrum division for the motion picture business and HomeShop18 – India’s first fully integrated home shopping network.

WEB18, a division of the TV 18 Group, is a leading player in the Internet space in India. It runs moneycontrol.com, which is India’s most influential and widely used financial, business and investor platform with more than 5 million users. Apart from this, WEB 18 runs commoditiescontrol.com - India’s leading source for authentic and real-time commodity information, ibnlive.com - India’s leading general news portal and poweryourtrade.com, which is a paid equity news and information site, easymf.com- a mutual funds advisory & tracking service, indiaearnings.com - India’s most credible and exclusive earnings information destination for companies and institutional investors, tech2.com- a leading personal technology website and cricketnext.com-India’s leading cricket website. TV 18 Group is also a significant stakeholder in Jobstreet India, an e-recruitment portal and Yatra.in, which provides online travel services.

Collectively, the TV18 Group services more than 70 million adults with the ‘power to spend’. For more information, visit http://www.tv18online.com.

Is India an opportunity Economy? - CNBC Universe presents the comprehensive budget coverage

Mumbai, February 8, 2007:
2006 was another landmark year for the Indian economy and for corporate India. Indian businesses have made further global forays and confident moves, Indian consumers have benefited from better products & services, markets have witnessed higher levels of enterprising activity and the economy at large has seen some constructive policy making. As a result, the Indian growth story did take a quantum leap in the year gone by. While the euphoria of India’s emergence as a global economic opportunity is evident and refreshing, the Indian growth story is yet to be completely inclusive in the sense of it percolating to various strata and regions of the country.

As the BUDGET of 2007 approaches, it is an opportune time to review the past as well as discuss the future of the Indian economy. While the tremendous opportunity that the economy represents is evident at many levels, the other realities that exist cannot be ignored either. This is the reason for the CNBC UNIVERSE, India’s largest and most comprehensive business & consumer platform, to approach all our programming for the Budget this year on the theme of “OPPORTUNITY ECONOMY?”.

All properties of the CNBC Universe including CNBC TV-18, India’s No.1 business medium & CNBC Awaaz, India’s first consumer focused channel as well as host of web properties led by moneycontrol.com, one of the world’s leading financial portals, will create and deliver programming around this theme during Budget 2007. The focus will naturally be on the policy implications emanating from the FM but it will as strongly be on studying various facets of the Indian economy so as to deliver to million of audiences a relevant, truthful and most importantly empowering picture of where India can go from here.

The CNBC universe is powered by an insightful and experienced editorial team and enjoys a long-standing legacy of comprehensive budget coverage over the years.

Managing Growth was the kick off event for the Budget programming on CNBC-TV18 with policy makers and business leaders discussing the Indian growth story & the prospect of inclusive growth in an engaging debate in Delhi. All through February, CNBC TV-18 will also present a series of ‘Budget Expectation’ events that focus on the Indian economy from the crucial viewpoints of Manufacturing, Youth and Growth. Subsequently, the Pre Budget programming on CNBC-TV18 will see a series on air though debates that will act as context setting programming covering an array of relevant aspects of the Indian economy. These will include topics such as like the re-emergence of Indian agriculture, rise of Indian MNCs, SMEs, Infrastructure, job growth & human resources, personal finance, capital markets and so on.

A special ‘Young India’ set of programs will focus on the youth constituency through shows such as campus debates and an event that shall focus on b school students & young turks of the economy. The Nation’s Voice will be a special segment that shall take stock of everything the previous budget promised and weigh it against how much it really delivered. The pre budget programming will also present the The Great Indian Economic Poll, which shall capture the mood and sentiment of the nation across various constituencies such as ceo’s, executives, sme’s, students, homemakers etc.

The budget on CNBC Awaaz will cover the Consumer, Families, Corporate, SMEs and Taxpayers in depth. The budget special on Your Stocks Aapke Sheher Main will travel to five key cities across India taking stock of what investors expect from the market after the Budget, what are the changes expected from specific sectors and industries. The series will also address queries on stocks pre-Budget. Kahani Ghar Ghar ki – is a unique and innovative way of looking at the budget with a perspective straight from the Indian households, CNBC Awaaz will monitor 12 families pre and post budget, will map the budget with expectations and the impact the Budget 2007 will have on their savings and expenditure.

The Budget Express is a nationwide initiative tracking 32 cities and will speak to the consumers across all social stratas from CEO’s to the average Indian on the street for understanding their expectations and concerns about the Budget 2007 with segments like Janata Express, CEO Stopover and SME Choupal. CNBC Awaaz Budget team will be on the road, traveling across the country , covering metros, mini metros, stopping at villages, small towns etc to hold one on ones and small group discussions with different segments of society.

Soap operas are said to be reflections of society and with Saas Bahu aur Budget CNBC Awaaz has tied up with Star Plus to bring forth the concerns and expectations as well as the impact of the Budget 2007 with one of the most popular households on television.

A special focus will be shown on SMEs through a series of SME roundtables on industry sectors such as Textile, Pharma, IT & Auto and Gems & Jewellery to be held across the 6 different cities. SME heads will discuss the opportunities of creating a more enabling environment for mall businesses. The discussion will highlight priorities for the coming year, the expectations from the current Budget as well as the way forward for small businesses.

Both channels will cover the Rail budget comprehensively- Laloo’s Caravan on CNBC-TV18, Rail Yatra on CNBC Awaaz. Additionally, CNBC Awaaz will telecast Laloo ka Durbaar – platform where India will witness whether Laloo’s Budget was able to impress the common man or not. In Laloo’s Darbaar, the common man will meet and question Laloo on any issues on the Rail Budget.

Commenting on the budget programming on CNBC Universe, a spokesperson of CNBC Universe said, “CNBC-TV18 has been synonymous with the budget programming and analysis since inception. The CNBC Universe which now encompasses CNBC TV18, CNBC Awaaz, CNBC Global Network, moneycontrol.com, commoditiescontrol.com, poweryourtrade.com, compareindia.com, easymf.com, indiaearnings.com, tech2.com, TV18 2622, CNBC TV18 bestsellers under its umbrella looks forward to give its viewers and users across the board and comprehensive coverage of the budget expectations, announcement and analyses.”

Both CNBC-TV18 and CNBC Awaaz will telecast the live uninterrupted coverage of the FM’s Budget Speech followed by a half hour interview with the FM. Post announcement of the budget a full of analysis of the budget in continuous bulletins will run on both the channels. CNBC TV-18 & CNBA AWAAZ will broadcast live out of key locations such as CII, FICCI and the markets apart from the studios on the budget day, to ensure all viewers get the latest reactions and most comprehensive coverage. There will also be 2 large BUDGET IMPACT network events to be broadcast on all 4 channels of TV 18 network i.e. CNBC TV-18, CNBC AWAAZ, CNN-IBN & IBN 7. These events will be broadcast on and around budget day from Delhi and Mumbai. One event shall capture the complete IMPACT of the budget from the policy, political, markets and corporate perspective. The other event shall be focused on youth reactions to the budget as well. On budget day, like earlier years, CNBC TV-18 will present ‘TALKING TAXES’, a 3 event series from Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore, which shall focus on the tax ramifications from the budget. CNBC TV-18, CNBC AWAAZ & MONEYCONTROL.COM will also present the special BUDGET DAY BONANZA CONTEST where viewers can answer budget related questions and win 2.25 lacs every hour throughout the 28th of February.

Post the Budget, the India Business Hour on CNBC-TV18 will conduct a comprehensive review of Budget 2007; this shall act as the best barometer of India Inc.’s reactions. Following this, CNBC-TV18 & MTV Budget Fundas, will be telecast on both channels. will have India’s youth connect with the Union Budget… what’s cool, what’s in and what it’s all about!

The programming on CNBC-TV18 will be peppered with short segments and vignettes such as Tax Minute, CEO Bites, If I were FM...?, Budget Factoids, What the World Thinks.

Post budget programming CNBC Awaaz will go back to the 12 identified families pre budget in Kahani Ghar Ghar ki and will map the budget to their expectations and understand from each one of them how it has impacted their lives like education, food grocery, transport, entertainment, day to day living, etc. Subhas Lakhotia – the undisputed king of the tax consultancy space will conduct Tax Dubar, where the common people can raise and clarify their tax queries post budget. A special PF Durbar will also be held post budget.

A panel of financial experts will meet and understand the requirements of one of India's most popular soap opera families on Saas Bahu aur Budget on CNBC Awaaz The large family would be representative of the common people of the country and the expectations and issues of each family member reflect the Budget expectations of the nation.

The theme of “Opportunity Economy?” will extend throughout the CNBC Universe, including moneycontrol.com, indiaearnings.com, commoditiescontrol.com, poweryourtrade.com, compareindia.com, easymf.com, TV18 2622 and CNBC TV18 bestsellers.

Yatra.com appoints Ayesha Kapur as Head - New Business Development

Ayesha to be a key member of the Yatra.com leadership team

Mumbai , January 31, 2007:
Yatra Online Pvt Ltd, the leading travel services company has announced the appointment of Ayesha Kapur as Head - New Business Development. Ayesha will be responsible for devising and implementing new business development opportunities for Yatra and diversifying the company's product portfolio.

Ayesha comes to Yatra.com from Info Edge India Limited, the group that owns leading sector portals such as www.naukri.com, www.jeevansathi.com, www.99acres.com. At Info Edge India she was VP – marketing and managed the group's overall marketing strategy, which included media planning, marketing promotions and corporate communication for all the group portals.

Her key achievements included establishing and maintaining primary market share for flagship brand naukri.com over 5+ years and forging jeevansathi.com into a competitive player in the Matrimonial space.

Prior to joining Info Edge India, Ayesha worked with iCleo.com Ltd. for over a year as the brand manager. At iCleo she had develop organization strategy, which included performance on traffic, revenues and strategic alliances for India's largest women's portals, Smartbahu.com and iCleo.com.

Ayesha has been associated with the Internet for over 7 years since her return to India in 1998 after spending 5 years in the US where she completed a Double Major in Pyschology and Sociology from Clark University, MA. Her interests include Internet, new media and emerging technologies. She is an ardent animal lover, and has been actively involved fund raising for local animal shelters.

About Yatra

Yatra (www.yatra.com) is the assisted, online and call-center-based travel services company for the India market. Yatra helps businesses and consumers book travel by offering them travel-related information, pricing, availability and reservations for airlines, hotels, railway, buses and car rentals across 5000 large cities and small rural areas throughout India. Yatra's customer service center enables business and family/leisure travelers to make well-informed and cost effective bookings 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Yatra customers benefit from first priority booking and customized travel packages and deals for multiple large to small hotels, airlines, railways, buses and car rentals at the lowest prices, as a result of strategic relationships with the leading travel suppliers across the country. Yatra's world-renowned investors include Norwest Venture Partners (NVP) – Promod Haque's leading venture capital firm, Reliance Capital (a member of Reliance – Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group), and Television 18 Group (TV18)—India's premier news broadcaster (CNBC TV18, CNN-IBN and Awaaz) and a leading Internet player (running moneycontrol.com, commoditiescontrol.com and ibnlive.com) founded by Raghav Bahl. For more information visit www.yatra.com or send an e-mail to info@yatra.com.

HONDA CIVIC IS THE CNBC-TV18 AUTOCAR CAR OF THE YEAR 2007 - Bajaj Pulsar 220 DTS-Fi is CNBC-TV18 Autocar Bike of the Year 2007

Mumbai, January 4, 2006
In a glittering awards ceremony, Honda Civic drove away with the CNBC-TV18 Autocar Car of the Year Award 2007, while Bajaj Pulsar 220 DTS-Fi zooming away with the CNBC-TV18 Autocar Bike of the Year Award 2007.

The CNBC-TV18 Autocar Auto Awards are the pre-eminent awards in the Indian automobile space. Over the last 5years the awards have proved to be the benchmarks for auto excellence in India. The Awards are presented by leaders in their own right – CNBC-TV18 – India’s leading business news channel and Autocar, the country’s premier auto magazine.

CNBC-TV18 Autocar Auto Awards 2007 recognized & rewarded exemplary performance in the industry in 2006 basis a comprehensive set of attributes including design, technology, value and product experience.

Winners at this prestigious awards ceremony are as follows:

Category	Award winners
Car of the Year	Honda Civic
Bike of the Year	Bajaj Pulsar 220 DTS-Fil
Best value for money car	Hyundai Verna
Best design and styling	New Toyota Camry
Best driver’s car	New Honda CRV
Manufacturer of the Year	Honda Siel
Component Manufacturer of the Year	Mico
Variant of the Year	Mercedes E-280
Import Car of the Year	Audi Q7
Technologically Advanced Car of the Year	Mercedes S 350
CEO's Most Preferred Car brand	Mercedes
Best City to drive in	Delhi
Car of the Year -Viewers Choice	Honda Civic
Storyboard Auto Commericial of the Year	Tata Indica Xeta

The Indian auto industry in 2006 saw the launch of internationally acclaimed cars like the Mercedes E Class, General Motors’ Aveo, Hyundai Verna and Elantra. Renault, GM, Volkswagen and Honda declared their investment plans for India this year. Another compelling testimony to India’s growing importance is its emergence as an International production hub and an advancing market. Interestingly, its not only volume car makers who want a share of the Indian pie, but also luxury majors such as Audi and Rolls Royce, which have made forays to tap into the great Indian auto opportunity.

Commenting on the CNBC-TV18 Autocar Auto Awards 2007, a spokesperson of CNBC-TV18 said, “Since inception, the processes and expertise behind these awards ensure that they truly reflect the choices & sentiments of all stakeholders and justify their stature as benchmarks in Auto excellence. Not surprisingly, the CNBC TV-18 Autocar Auto Awards are the most trusted word on automobiles for consumers, manufacturers and auto experts alike. This year will be another valuable addition to that legacy.”

Additionally, like last year, TNS honored the front-runners of the 2006 Total Customer Satisfaction studies in the four-wheeler and two-wheeler segments and the most trusted brands in the Indian automotive industry, conferring upon them the ‘TNS Voice of the Customer Award’. The TNS awards are greatly complimentary to the CNBC TV-18 Autocar Autoawards and this partnership provides a holistic assessment of automotive excellence in the country, both from the customer and expert perspectives, as was the case last year as well.

The high profile attendees at the function included corporate leaders & leading lights of the Indian automotive industry. The guests were enthralled by a retro performance by Hip Pocket, a well-known rock band from Kolkata.

About CNBC-TV18 :

CNBC-TVI8 is India's No.1 business medium. CNBC-TV18 is the undisputed leader in the business. The channel's benchmark coverage extends from corporate news, financial markets coverage, expert perspective on investing and management to industry verticals and beyond. CNBC-TV18 has been constantly innovating with new genres of programming that helps make business more relevant to different constituencies across India. CNBC-TV18 is currently available in over 25 million households in India.

About AutoCar :

Autocar is a pioneer in the systematic evaluation of cars. It was the first company to introduce the concept of a 'road test' 75 years ago and one that has established itself as a benchmark by which every new car is judged. Autocar has exhaustive test data as well as the accumulated experience of testing 4,500 cars worldwide.

For further information please contact :
Janice Goveas
Hanmer & Partners
9819316878

Methodology for evaluation

The objective of the award is to find a single, decisive winner. The voting process, therefore, is designed to pick one outstanding contender and not to provide a scale of merit of the competing cars. A jury consisting of a minimum of five persons is entrusted with the task of voting.
Each jury member is an expert in evaluating cars and has a fair amount of experience with a wide range of vehicles. The jury will be assisted by the objective test data and analysis by Autocar India, which has exhaustively tested all the eligible vehicles.

Scoring system
Jurists will rate the contestants on a scale of one to 10, based on the parameters detailed below. Vehicles will be individually assessed but ranked in relation to their direct market rivals.
The final score will be upon 100 — an aggregate of the total points of all the jury members. The car with the maximum points will be judged the winner.

Parameters

Fitness for purpose
The most important criterion, it essentially examines how well the car does the job it was made to do and whether it lives up to the expectations of its owners. Is it relevant to the Indian market? Is the car right for the majority of consumers? Does it have mass appeal? Will it suit the lifestyles of most people in the country?
Value for money
This doesn't mean the cheapest car available; rather it points to how much car you get for your money.
Design and styling
This is a subjective rating on the car's looks and aesthetics and also the level of engineering that has gone into the car. This also includes the safety features.
Engine, gearbox, performance
Engine noise, smoothness, performance, driveability in varied conditions, acceleration, gearshift quality and choice of gear ratios will be rated.
Ride, handling, brakes
The dynamic behaviour of the car will be assessed at various speeds in terms of steering feel and response, agility in the city, stability, ride comfort and effectiveness of the brakes.
Driving pleasure
Cars today are expected to be more than mere transport. This is largely subjective, but an enjoyable driving experience has become a crucial consideration for buyers.
Fuel efficiency
Vitally important in calculating a car's real cost of ownership over a long period, this is based on fuel consumption figures in the city and highway cycles.
Safety
Safety features, both active and passive, will be examined in each car. Safety equipment like ABS, airbags and traction control will be considered.
Ownership experience
This looks at the post-purchase considerations such as warranties, quality of aftersales service and spare parts prices, as well as the potential depreciation of the car.

TV18 Group announces the acquisition of the assets and staff of CRISIL MarketWire from CRISIL?

MUMBAI : 14 November 2006
The Television Eighteen Group today announced its decision to acquire the assets and staff of CRISIL MarketWire from CRISIL Limited. The transfer will take effect January 1, 2007. This follows the earlier decision of CRISIL and TV18 to jointly develop a framework for business collaboration.

The CMW business will be rechristened NewsWire18 Pvt. Ltd. and will be a group company of the TV18 Group. The TV18 Group is committed to grow the news and the information terminal business.

This transfer will further enhance CMW’s capability to meet customer demand for a good quality, locally-focussed real-time news and data product that meets all the needs of financial market participants in India. To achieve this aim, CMW will transform itself from a real-time financial newswire into an integrated information terminal, targeted initially at the domestic market.

The TV18 group will take over all the assets and liabilities and staff of CMW from the effective date. Mr. Pankaj Aher, currently Chief Executive Officer of CRISIL MarketWire Ltd., will continue to be the CEO of the business and of NewsWire18 Pvt. Ltd. and the entire team of professionals with him at CMW will continue to be associated with the business in the same capacity as currently. The new venture will carry with it all the staff of CMW across all locations and functions.

Commenting on this development, Mr R. Ravimohan, CEO and Managing Director of CRISIL Ltd., said “This transaction will allow the CMW team to be housed in a large, mainstream, and fast-growing media company. The technology, reach, and content of TV18, and the CMW content and product will be a very good combination that will offer value to customers.

Mr Haresh Chawla, Group CEO, Television Eighteen India Limited, said: “We are very pleased to have the CMW business on-board and are committed to help it grow to its rightful potential. This transaction and the news and data platform complements our leadership brands in the financial news and information space and will help us extend our dominance to the institutional segment and serve it better.”

The new business will have its own real-time market data and news terminal that is sourced from Tenfore Systems Ltd.

Founded in 1989, Tenfore has direct end users in more than 60 countries, and boasts over 500 corporate clients including HSBC, ING and Rabobank and 45 wholesale/redistribution clients including Thomson Financial and GFI. Tenfore is head-quartered in the UK, with offices in Germany, The Netherlands, and Switzerland.

Mr Raghav Bahl, Managing Director, Television Eighteen India Limited, said: “The strategic fit that the newswire business will provide to our existing business will create tremendous shareholder value. This acquisition marks an important milestone in our journey towards becoming a more integrated news company.”

About CRISIL MarketWire Ltd.:

CRISIL MarketWire is India's first and only real-time domestic financial news agency.
With a team of more than 60 journalists across nine bureaux, CMW provides coverage of the Indian economy and markets that is unmatched in its breadth and depth. CMW publishes the CMW MoneyWire, the CMW EquityWire, the CMW CommodityWire, and the CMW FundWire.

For more information, visit http://www.crisilmarketwire.com

About CRISIL Ltd., a Standard & Poor’s Company:

CRISIL is India's leading Ratings, Financial News, Risk and Policy Advisory company. CRISIL’s majority shareholder is Standard & Poor’s, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies and the world's foremost provider of independent credit ratings, indices, risk evaluation, investment research and data.

For more information, visit http://www.crisil.com

About TV18 Group:

Television Eighteen (TV18) is India's No.1 News and Information Network, operating in the Television and Internet space. TV18 broadcasts four round-the-clock news channels and deploys content across multiple platforms like Television, Internet, Mobile and Voice. The company has an extensive network of more than 2000 media professionals spread across 30-bureaus in India and abroad. TV18 is the only media company in the world to have partnered with two of the world's largest media conglomerates. Its leading business news channels, CNBC-TV18 and CNBC Awaaz, are in partnership with NBC Universal (a USD 13 billion company), which broadcasts CNBC - the world leader in business and financial news. TV18's general news channel CNN-IBN is a partnership with Time Warner (the world's largest media company), which broadcasts CNN - one of the world's most respected and trusted source for news and information. TV18 has added to its network, IBN 7, a leading Hindi general news channel in partnership with the Jagran Group, owners of India's largest Hindi language daily. TV18 is a significant player in the Internet space in India. It is India's only television company to have identified and built upon a variety of leading information and transactional services based on the Internet. Amongst its leading online properties are moneycontrol.com; India's number one financial destination, also amongst the largest financial portals in the world and ibnlive.com, India's leading interactive news portal. Collectively, TV18 Group services more than 70 million adults with the 'power to spend'. For more information, visit www.tv18online.com

Contact:
Ajay Chacko
09821047558
ajay.chacko@tv18online.com

Can India score a perfect 10 GDP?

MUMBAI: CNBC-TV18, India's leading business medium and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) have joined hands to promote the 'India Economic Conclave 2006' presented by the Bank of Rajasthan. The India Economic Conclave is an annual event hosted by CNBC-TV18, which brings the top thinkers in the corporate world on a common platform to brainstorm on issues plaguing India Inc and suggest an appropriate course of action. The theme for the Conclave this year was ' Breakthrough Ideas to Attain 10% GDP'

The India Economic Conclave 2006 integrated two interactive panel discussions 'AIMING FOR 10% GDP - What needs to be done: The Role of the Government, Industry and Consumer' and 'Out of the Box Ideas for Double Digit Growth'. Moderated by Senthil Chengalvarayan and Shereen Bhan, the conclave deliberated on innovative and revolutionary ideas that could propel India into the next paradigm of growth in the Infrastructure, Manufacturing, Agriculture and Services sectors.

Speakers at the two sessions included corporate and government leaders like Mr Jyotiraditya Scindia, Loksabha MP – Congress, Mr. Ajay S Shriram, Chairman and Senior Managing Director - DCM Shriram Consolidated Ltd., Dr. Surinder Kapur, Chairman and Managing Director - Sona Koyo Steering Systems Ltd, Mr. Banmali Agrawala, Managing Director - Wartsila India Ltd, Mr Tarun Tejpal, Editor-in-Chief – Tehelka, Mr. R Seshasayee, President - CII, Mr. Tapan Bhaumik, Chief economist - Reliance Industries, Mr. Santosh Desai, President - McCann Erickson and Mr. Raman Roy, Chairman & Managing Director – Quatrro.

Speaking at the conclave, a spokesperson for CNBC-TV18 said, "The ultimate aim of the conclave is to create and write a socio-economic blueprint that will help Heads of State, CEOs, and Policy Makers from India and across the world to understand and work with the vast opportunity that is India. The next milestone ahead of India is breaking through the 10% GDP barrier and one thing is loud and clear if the Indian economy has to grow by 10% then the consumers, government and the industry players will have to work in perfect symphony."

Sustained economic growth presents different challenges to India - revitalization of the rural economy, improved delivery of necessary public services, enhanced management of urban areas, and facilitation of cost-effective investment in infrastructure were identified by the panelists.
The discussion revealed that for India to achieve a 10% GDP growth the immediate need is to increase infrastructure spend to GDP. The problem which arises here was Investment as China spends around 20% of its GDP on Infrastructure projects while India spends only 6%. Hence there is a strong case for raising this number.

http://www.indiantelevision.com/release/y2k6/dec/decrel54.htm

NETWORK 18 LAUNCHES "STUDIO18" A Full Spectrum Feature Film Studio.

Network18, the holding company of The TV 18 Group, launches Studio18, a full spectrum division that will mark the group’s entry in the motion picture business. The business spectrum of the company will involve acquisition, production, syndication and distribution of full-length feature films. Based in Mumbai, Studio18 will have distribution offices in London and New York.

Studio18 will be a new age motion picture company that believes in the growth potential of the Indian motion picture business. One of the key strengths of the company is its highly experienced team led by Sandeep Bhargava. He comes to Studio18 after his highly successful stint at Sahara-One Motion Pictures, where he was responsible for some exemplary box office successes and building the company as a formidable player in the entertainment business.

Priti Shahani, regarded as one of the best marketing professionals in the entertainment business, will continue to lead the Marketing Division. Additionally, she will also be heading the Syndication & Distribution business for the company.

Ashoka Holla, one of the very few people with an in-depth understanding of the international business potential of Indian films, will head International Distribution and Acquisitions for the company. He has been responsible for successfully acquiring and distributing films in several overseas territories at UTV. He will also be responsible for launching and driving the Home Video label for Studio18.

Chitra Subramanian, who will head the Production Division was associated with the development and making of films like Hanuman, Malamaal Weekly, and Corporate, during her course of employment with Percept Picture Company. She has also in the past worked closely with filmmakers like Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Priyadarshan, Nagesh Kukunoor, and Madhur Bhandarkar.

Deepti Chawla will head the creative function. She comes with a background in advertising and film-making and can be credited for effective promo packaging of films like Hanuman, Malamaal Weekly & Corporate during her course of employment with Sahara One Motion Pictures.

Sibashish Sarkar has been appointed as CFO. Shibasish has spent 13 years across various FMCG and other industries, working with organizations like Godrej Sara Lee, Shaw Wallace & Hindustan Cables. The last 3 years have seen him in Entertainment companies like UTV & Percept Picture Company where he has played a strategic role in financial restructuring & been instrumental in setting systems and processes for the business.

Vandana Malik and Sanjay Ray Chadhuri, both Founding Shareholder-Directors of The TV18 Group, will act as creative advisors for Studio 18.

CNBC Awaaz goes live from NSE TV18 Media Centre
The Finance Minister inaugurates the NSE – TV18 Media Centre

The Television Eighteen Group (TV18) and the National Stock Exchange have forged a unique partnership to form the NSE-TV18 Media Centre. The Media Centre was e-inaugurated by the Honorable Finance Minister Shri P Chidambaram in presence of the industry leaders like Adi Gorej, Uday Kotak and Mr. Nandan Nilekani.

This initiative was taken to mark the second anniversary of CNBC AWAAZ, the consumer oriented business channel in Hindi from the TV18 group. The channel within two years of its launch has helped triple India’s Business audience from 10 Mn to 32 Mn. CNBC AWAAZ with its unique Programming initiatives has empowered the Indian consumers and has created the new community of progressive Hindi speaking Indians.

CNBC AWAAZ will go live from the NSE-TV18 Media Centre which will be housed at the NSE premise in Mumbai and will provide a platform to bring real-time reportage, corporate earnings and discussions with company management to a larger national and international audience.

The NSE being a real-time, electronic exchange an ‘e-inauguration’ was befitting for this momentous occasion.

On the launch of the NSE TV18 Media Centre, Raghav Bahl, Managing Director, Television Eighteen India Limited said, “We believe that this is a concrete step further in enhancing levels of transparency and communication with investors. This is a first in the history of the Indian stock markets and TV18 is extremely proud to partner India’s leading stock exchange, the NSE.”

Mr Ravi Narain, MD, National Stock Exchange added, “The setting up of the media centre is a step in line with global practices. Most of the leading exchanges worldwide have set up such platforms for realtime coverage of markets. This I believe takes the exchange to the doorstep of the investor.”

CNBC Awaaz Editor Sanjay Pugalia points out, “CNBC Awaaz has successfully completed 2 years in India and is the fastest growing channel in the country today. CNBC Awaaz cuts through jargon and gives information in a language understood by everyone, reaching out to a wider audience and that is the reason why CNBC AWAAZ is responsible for more than 55% growth in Business viewership. The partnership with NSE will help investors get better access to the exchange and company managements and will help aid more informed investing decisions”

The ‘e-inauguration’ beamed live on CNBC AWAAZ and was simulcasted on the TV18 network channels namely CNBC TV18, CNN-IBN, IBN-7. The E- inauguration began with a short message from the Finance Minister who said, “It is now time to focus our efforts on making information available instantaneously to the entire target audience - domestic and overseas. The joint initiative of TV18 and NSE to set up a media centre to bring real time linkages between markets, corporates and investing communities, live from the media centre is a step in this direction. I am sure that this would bring the viewer closer and will improve the level of communication between the company management and the shareholders.”

Market hour programming on CNBC-TV18 and CNBC Awaaz will go live from the NSE as well as earnings coverage of NSE listed companies and listings on the NSE will be announced live from the NSE TV18 media centre.

About TV18 Group:

Television Eighteen (TV18) is India's No.1 News and Information Network, operating in the Television and Internet space. TV18 broadcasts four round-the-clock news channels and deploys content across multiple platforms like Television, Internet, Mobile and Voice. The company has an extensive network of more than 2000 media professionals spread across 30-bureaus in India and abroad. TV18 is the only media company in the world to have partnered with two of the world's largest media conglomerates. Its leading business news channels, CNBC-TV18 and CNBC Awaaz, are in partnership with NBC Universal (a USD 13 billion company), which broadcasts CNBC - the world leader in business and financial news. TV18's general news channel CNN-IBN is a partnership with Time Warner (the world's largest media company), which broadcasts CNN - one of the world's most respected and trusted source for news and information. TV18 has added to its network, IBN 7, a leading Hindi general news channel in partnership with the Jagran Group, owners of India's largest Hindi language daily. TV18 is a significant player in the Internet space in India. It is India's only television company to have identified and built upon a variety of leading information and transactional services based on the Internet. Amongst its leading online properties are moneycontrol.com; India's number one financial destination, also amongst the largest financial portals in the world and ibnlive.com, India's leading interactive news portal. Collectively, TV18 Group services more than 70 million adults with the 'power to spend'. For more information, visit www.tv18online.com

TV18's Creative Team Wins the Promax Asia PSA Challenge

The challenge was to produce a compelling 30-second Public Service Announcement, from conceptualisation to final execution, in five days flat. TV18's simple yet effective PSA against child labour raced ahead of all the other entries from Asia to win the challenge. The creative device used in the PSA was reversing time, to drive home the point about helping underprivileged children break free from the shackles of child labour. The winning PSA, created for Promax's nominated charity, MILK (an organisation that reaches out to disadvantaged children across Asia) is currently being broadcast on the network to further highlight this important cause.

CRISIL and TV18 Group announce framework for business collaboration

The CRISIL Group and Television Eighteen Group today announced their decision to jointly develop a framework for business collaboration, with the objective of strengthening their offerings in the financial information, news and market data and analytics space.

The two companies already share a history of working together – they jointly host the CNBC-TV18—CRISIL Mutual Fund Awards. In the recent past, the two have also joined hands to bring to CNBC-TV18 viewers the best coverage of the Indian Budget, powered primarily by the news and research arms of CRISIL. CNBC TV18’s Emerging India Awards for SMEs is also powered by CRISIL. CRISIL has recently tied up with CNBC Awaaz for the Real Estate Awards.

The success of these offerings, as evident from the popular response they have received, as well as the impact and the recall created by them, have prompted the two organizations to explore avenues where the two could further collaborate and co-operate. This collaboration will enable possibilities of working together, sharing of content and assets, with a view to augmenting their products and services to clients in the financial community.

Commenting on this development, Mr. R. Ravimohan, CEO and Managing Director of CRISIL Ltd. said, “In this age of complex financial development of the financial markets, CRISIL has found that partnering various leading firms serves the market's needs more effectively. In line with this strategy, we believe this partnership will lead to the development of high quality offerings that will serve the market, cost-effectively.”

Mr. Haresh Chawla, CEO, Television Eighteen India Limited, said: “This is a unique opportunity where our brand and media strength in the financial news space can align with CRISIL’s proven research and news capabilities to build robust information and research based products.”

About CRISIL:
CRISIL is India's leading Ratings, Financial News, Risk and Policy Advisory company. CRISIL’s majority shareholder is Standard & Poor’s, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies and the world's foremost provider of independent credit ratings, indices, risk evaluation, investment research and data. For more information, visit http://www.crisil.com

About TV18 Group:
Television Eighteen (TV18) is India's No.1 broadcast news network with 125,000 sq. ft. of fully integrated broadcast infrastructure, including state-of-the-art hubs in Mumbai and Delhi. Its 2000+ team is spread across the country in 30 bureau locations (4 of which are overseas). TV18 is the only media company in the globe to have partnered with two of the world’s largest media conglomerates. Its leading business news channels, CNBC-TV18 and CNBC Awaaz, are in a partnership with NBC Universal - a USD 13 bn company. Its general news channel CNN-IBN is a partnership with Time Warner, the world’s largest media conglomerate. Apart from these three channels, its network also includes IBN 7, a leading Hindi general news channel in partnership with the Jagran Group, owners of India’s largest Hindi language daily. TV18 is also a leading player in the Internet space in India. It is India’s only television company to have identified and built upon a variety of leading information and transactional services based on the Internet. For more information, visit http://www.tv18online.com

For Further Information Please Contact
Janice/Niketa
Hanmer & Partners
Tel No: 6752 4600

TV 18 Group integrates its earning coverage under India Earnings umbrella, launches Indiaearnings.com

The earnings season is one of the hottest actions for a business network like TV18 Group In order to give retail as well as institutional investors the best coverage during the earnings season, the TV18 network has brought about the first major editorial integration under the CNBC Universe stable. The earnings coverage on the network will now be integrated under the India Earnings Umbrella.

The India Earnings Umbrella will include pre-results, results-day and post-results coverage, analysis chats with company managements and webcasts of investor conferences, third party reference and reference material across TV18's various channels and online properties.

Under the India Earnings umbrella, the CNBC Universe will be launching Indiaearnings.com, powered by a team of experts from TV18's editorial team. The website will allow restricted access to a selective set of institutional investors in the country. The access to the site is strictly by invitation. To receive an invitation one needs to send an email to indiaearnings@moneycontrol.com.

Indiaearnings.com will be inaugurated by Narayana Murthy, Chairman and Chief Mentor of Infosys on October 11. Indiaearnings.com claims to provide India's most credible and exclusive information destination for professional Indian and foreign institutional investors.

Commenting on the India Earnings Umbrella, Haresh Chawla, CEO, TV18 Group, said, "India Earnings is by far the most extensive platform that any company would get for its results coverage and also the single largest platform which reaches out to more than 40 million affluent, interested Indians. Indiaearnings.com will be a one-stop destination for all their investment needs as well as the most credible platform for critical information on the company financials. The India Earnings Umbrella will combine the strengths of CNBC-TV18, CNBC Awaaz and moneycontrol.com as well as CNBC Global Network to benefit professional retail and institutional investors alike."

CNBC-TV18 will showcase the earnings seasons of large cap and mid cap companies, CNBC Awaaz will cover the earnings of mid-cap and small cap companies, indiaearnings.com will touch upon more than 500 companies to give investors all round earnings coverage.

Elaborating further, Ajay Chacko, Head-Marketing, CNBC-TV18 and CNBC Awaaz, said, "Through Indiaearnings.com we will make available detailed financial statements of numerous companies, company background and information about the board of directors. The site will also offer archival and pre-result estimates. Also on the anvil are tools to compare results with peer companies, CFO meets and comprehensive information about the stocks, not the least of which are webcasts and audiocasts of press conferences and brokerage conferences."

When queried on how such initiatives would benefit the business network, Chacko said, "It helps us demonstrate the power of the CNBC Universe platform and shows a tangible integration of different media offerings – from a CNBC TV18 to a moneycontrol to TV18 mobile. It also helps multiple communities – from retail investors to foreign institutional investors and even company managements to have a comprehensive platform for earnings information on companies."

Joint Press Release by Ambit, Web 18 and Centurion Bank of Punjab -7th December, 2006

Ambit, Web18 and Centurion Bank of Punjab to partner in stock broking venture, with a strong internet presence

Ambit, Web18 and Centurion Bank of Punjab have today announced a partnership to pursue stock broking business with a strong internet presence in India. The venture will be the first of its kind with 3 domestic players coming together to capture the fast-growing brokerage market. Apart from stock broking, a range of financial services including distribution of third party products, portfolio management services etc. will be offered by the venture. With increasing internet penetration in the country, retail customers will be serviced online by the venture. It will leverage upon the online presence of Web18‘s several internet properties including moneycontrol.com, easymf.com, poweryourtrade.com and commoditiescontrol.com as well as the extensive branch reach of Centurion Bank of Punjab. The businesses will be managed by a professional board chaired by Mr. Rana Talwar.

The 3 players bring together complementary strengths for the business. Ambit has extensive experience in providing financial services such as investment banking, stock broking and investment advisory services. Web18, a TV18 Group company, is a leading player in the Indian internet space with presence and partnerships including the online financial space (moneycontrol.com), e-recruitment (jobstreet.com), online travel (yatra.com) and allied ventures with over 5 million unique visitors per month. With over 3 Million customers at its 249 branches, Centurion Bank of Punjab has strong presence across the country and has significant understanding of the retail segment in India.

Mr. Ashok Wadhwa, Partner & CEO, Ambit Corporate Finance said, “We are excited about partnering with a leading business media group and a leading bank in what we believe will create a truly world class Indian Brokerage House”.

“Considering Web18’s strong positioning in the online information and transaction segment, a partnership in the e-broking space is a natural extension for us. With their expertise and strong reputation in the market place, our partner’s will enable the venture in capturing a substantial market share in this business” says Mr. Raghav Bahl, Managing Director of Web18.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Shailendra Bhandari, Managing Director & CEO, Centurion Bank of Punjab said “We are very pleased with this initiative, which will enable the bank to offer an increasing array of sophisticated financial products to our Mass Affluent and our high net-worth customers. By adding broking services, the bank will be able to complete its suite of Wealth Management Services, which currently includes complete financial advisory services and distribution of products such as mutual funds and life insurance. The bank is also pleased to be partnering with Web18 and Ambit, who are leaders in their respective fields.

The joint venture is subject to obtaining all regulatory approvals. Amarchand Mangaldas are the legal advisors to the joint venture.

About Web18
Web18 - a Television Eighteen (TV18) Group company is a leading player in the Internet space in India. It is the company that owns moneycontrol.com, which is India’s most influential and widely used financial, business and investor platform with more than 5 million users. Moneycontrol.com also features amongst the top 5 financial portals in the world. Apart from this, Web18 owns commoditiescontrol.com - India’s leading source for authentic and real-time commodity information, ibnlive.com - India’s leading general news portal and poweryourtrade.com, which is a paid equity news and information site. The Company is also a significant stakeholder in Jobstreet India, an e-recruitment portal and Yatra.in, which provides online travel service, which it helped found with Norwest Venture Partners. Web18 recently launched tech2.com, which is a leading personal technology website.

Television Eighteen (TV18) Group is India's No.1 news and information network with leading interests in broadcast television and the Internet space. Its leading business news channels, CNBC-TV18 and CNBC Awaaz, are in a partnership with NBC Universal & its general news channel CNN-IBN is a partnership with Time Warner. Apart from these three channels, its Network also includes IBN 7, a leading Hindi general news channel in partnership with the Jagran Group.

Collectively, the Web18 services more than 5 million unique adults every month with the ‘power to spend’. For more information, visit http://www.tv18online.com.

About Centurion Bank of Punjab:
Centurion Bank of Punjab is one of the leading new generation private sector banks in India. The bank serves individual consumers, small and medium businesses and large corporations with a full range of financial products and services for investing, lending and advice on financial planning. It holds leadership positions in the two-wheeler loan and commercial vehicle loan segments, is a strong player in foreign exchange services, personal loans, mortgages, education loans and agricultural loans, and credit cards. Additionally the bank offers a full suite of NRI banking products to overseas Indians. The bank also offers its customers an array of wealth management products such as mutual funds and life and general insurance.

Centurion Bank of Punjab operates on a strong nationwide franchise of 249 branches and 402 ATMs across 123 locations, and has approvals from the Reserve Bank of India to open a further 30 branches before the end of this fiscal year. Centurion Bank of Punjab is supported by over 5,000 employees. In addition to being listed on the major Indian stock exchanges, the Bank’s shares are also listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange.

For more information log on to www.centurionbop.co.in

About Ambit:
Founded in 1997, in a short span of time Ambit Corporate Finance has grown to be one of India’s leading investment banks. Over last 3 years, Ambit has consistently ranked amongst the top 10 I-Banks on India’s M&A league tables. What started as a boutique outfit has been transformed by Mr. Wadhwa into a full-fledged I-bank, which is reflected in such mega-transactions as the Bank of Punjab merger with Centurion Bank, DHL's acquisition of Blue Dart and United Breweries JV with Scottish & Newcastle. In early 2006, Ambit further launched its securities business – Ambit Capital

RSM, an affiliate of Ambit, today is amongst the top 5 tax and accounting firms operating in India and is the largest Indian accounting firm.

CNBC-TV18 India Business Leader Awards 2006 felicitates Global Leaders

A company is not bricks and mortar. A company is not an idea. A company is intellect. A company is the combined intellect. - Jack Welch

Mumbai, December 7, 2006: CNBC-TV18 India Business Leader Awards (IBLA) held here in Mumbai today, was star studded with the most sought-after luminaries that India Inc has to offer. The only platform that recognizes and honors achievements of true business leaders, the CNBC-TV18 India Business Leader Awards felicitated the likes of Anand Mahindra, KV Kamath, M Damodaran, Tulsi Tanti, Kishore Biyani, among others who have established soaring benchmarks for their peers.

The CNBC TV-18 India Business Leader Awards initiated in the year 2005 are the definitive awards for celebrating the spirit of excellence in business leadership. IBLA winners were selected from a prestigious line-up of the very best in Indian business and through a rigorous judging process.

India Business Leader Awards returned this year with more fanfare & inclusion of newer categories to salute these remarkable leaders from India Inc. and thus capture all aspects of the Indian business momentum.

Category	Winner
Most Promising Entrant into the Big League	Tulsi Tanti, Chairman. Managing Director - Suzlon Energy
First Generation Entrepreneur of the Year	Kishore Biyani, MD, Pantaloon Retail
Indian Global Achiever	Lakshmi Mittal, Chairman and CEO – Arcelor Mittal
Social Enterprise of the Year	SEWA
Outstanding contribution to the cause of Indian Business	M Damodaran Chairman, SEBI
The Lifetime Achievement Award	N R Narayana Murthy, Founder of Infosys Technologies.
India Businesswoman of the Year	Kiran Mazumdar Shaw , Chairman & Managing Director of Biocon Ltd
India Corporate Citizen of the Year	Cipla India
India Innovator of the Year	Uday Kotak, MD, Kotak Mahindra Bank
Talent Management Award	Ranbaxy Laboratories
Key Architect of the New Indian Economy	Arun Shourie, Member of the Rajya Sabha
Key Architect of the New Indian Economy	Bimal Jalan, Former Governor RBI
Key Architect of the New Indian Economy	Sheila Dikshit, CM , Delhi
Outstanding Business Leader of the Year	K V Kamath, Managing Director and CEO, ICICI Bank Limited
India business leader 2006 & Asia Business Leader 2006	Anand G. Mahindra, MD, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd
Hall of Fame	Dhirubhai Ambani

A special high powered panel discussion on the IBLA 2006 theme ‘Indian Business Leadership going global’ featured Industry veterans and though leaders like Arun Shourie, Member of the Rajya Sabha, Bimal Jalan, Former governor of RBI, KV Kamath, MD & CEO, ICICI Bank, Anand Mahindra, MD Mahindra & Mahindra and Uday Kotak, MD, Kotak Mahindra Bank.

CEO, TV18 Group, Haresh Chawla explains IBLA saying, "CNBC-TV18's India Business Leader Awards honor the highest levels of leadership and acknowledge the individuals who have spurred the growth of Indian businesses and the economic agenda of the country. To truly reflect a key facet of this Indian growth story and recognize its key champions, IBLA 2006 is centered on the theme of ‘Indian Business Leadership going Global and Commending Key Architects of the New Indian Economy’. From the Indians who are heading global corporations, to those creating world-class enterprises, we salute the individuals who are taking Indian businesses to the global arena”

These winners were selected by a panel of expert jury consisting of the Narayana Murthy, Founder & mentor Infosys – Chairman of the Jury, Kumar Mangalam Birla Chairperson - AV Birla Group, K V Kamath, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer - ICICI Bank, Dr. Isher Judge Ahluwalia, Chairperson - Board of Governors of ICRIER, Raghav Bahl, Managing Director - TV18 Group, Professor Mark E. Zmijewski, Dean of Asia Campus - University of Chicago GSB, Professor William W. Kooser, Associate Dean for Part-time MBA programmes - University of Chicago GSB, Dr. Rich Wellins, Senior Vice President – Development Dimensions International (DDI) and Mr. Phillip Overmyer, Executive Director - Singapore International Chamber of Commerce (SICC) completed the jury panel.

About CNBC-TV18:

CNBC-TVI8 is India's No.1 business medium. CNBC-TV18 is the undisputed leader in the business. The channel's benchmark coverage extends from corporate news, financial markets coverage, expert perspective on investing and management to industry verticals and beyond. CNBC-TV18 has been constantly innovating with new genres of programming that helps make business more relevant to different constituencies across India. CNBC-TV18 is currently available in over 25 million households in India.

For Further Information Please Contact
Janice/Niketa
Hanmer & Partners
9819316878 / 9867473327

7th CNBC-TV18 Indian Business Leader Awards to showcase the best of Corporate India December 06, 06. exchange4media Mumbai Bureau

Mumbai is all geared to play host to the Indian Business Leader Awards 2006 on December 7. This ground event will bring together the most revered names in India's political, economic and social circles. This year's theme centers around 'Indian Business Leadership's Going Global and Commending Key Architects of the New Indian Economy.

This year sees some of the biggest names in Corporate India vying for the Awards. They are among the country's top five first generation Indian entrepreneurs who have defied traditions to build organisations with passion, determination and business acumen.

Capt. P Gopinath, who is at the top of this list, is a retired Air Force officer and Managing Director of Air Deccan. He is the pioneer of budget airlines in the Indian skies. Barely three years after its launch, Gopinath's 'Udipi in the Sky' (as he calls it), claims to be India's second largest airline with a market share of nearly 20 per cent.

Kishore Biyani started that out with a single apparel store in Kolkata in 1997, and today it has grown into India's largest retail network, which has brands like Pantaloon, Big Bazaar and Food Bazaar.

His political lineage is impeccable – Kalanidhi Maran is Union Minister Murasoli Maran's son and IT & Telecom Minister Dayanidhi Maran's brother. And he also promoted Sun TV in 1992, which is now India's second largest broadcast network with 14 TV channels, a DTH venture, radio channels and two Tamil newspapers.

Ajay Bijli is PVR's Managing Director. Bijli revolutionised the cinema experience by pioneering multiplexes in India, bringing the dwindling audience back to the halls. He turned a film exhibition business into India's largest multiplex chain. PVR claims to have had 8.75 million customers in 2005.

Tulsi Tanti heads the world's fifth largest wind turbine generator manufacturer – Suzlon. Suzlon – which is also the world's largest wind turbine manufacturer in terms of market capitalisation.

Anil Ambani chose 'self-reliance' over Reliance. He built a Rs 1 lakh crore conglomerate in a year. Besides the many companies he's a strategic investor in, Ambani's company ADAE or Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Enterprises comprises leading telecom player Reliance Infocomm, Reliance Energy and Reliance Capital. Today, the Group claims to touch the lives of one in every 10 Indians daily.

Uday Kotak now heads a financial services conglomerate with interests in commercial banking, broking, investment banking, mutual funds and insurance. Kotak has also bought out his joint venture partner and the world's largest investment banker Goldman Sachs.

The winners of CNBC-TV18 India Business Leader Awards this year would be chosen by a jury that includes giants like N R Narayana Murthy, Chief Mentor of Infosys; K V Kamath, CEO, ICICI Bank; Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairman of the AV Birla Group; and noted economist Isher Judge Ahluwalia.

Murthy said, "The winner can be someone who has the courage to dream big, the courage of conviction and who can make sacrifices in the interest of the community."

"We need a leader who has demonstrated ability," said Kamath.

"Look out for one, track record, and two, sustainability of the business model and whether they were able to build on it," said Birla.

http://www.exchange4media.com/e4m/news/newfullstory.asp?section_id=8&news_id=23880&tag=18607&pict=7

Ras-Al-Khaimah to host CNBC-TV18 CFO Awards

MUMBAI: CNBC - TV18 have instituted for the first time an award for chief financial officers (CFOs) of India Inc., in recognition of the contribution that they have made towards the outstanding success of their organisations. The CNBC-TV18 CFO Awards 2006 will be held on 25 and 26 November at The Hilton, Ras-Al-Khaimah (RAK), UAE.

RAK crown prince Shaikh Saud, RAK chairman Shaikh Faisal, Ministry of Economics HOD Shaikha Lubna will preside over the event and award the winners of the CFO Awards. The CFO of a company is primarily responsible for managing the financial risks of a business and also for financial planning and record-keeping. In recent years, however, the role has expanded to encompass communicating financial performance and forecasts to the analyst community, according to an official release.

Working tirelessly behind the scenes, CFOs create wealth for organizations, stakeholders and customers. CNBC-TV18's CFO Awards for the first time recognizes the experts who generate profits for India Inc's most revered companies.

The winners of the CNBC-TV18 CFO Awards, India's most definitive awards for excellence in the financial field, will be selected after an extensive three -stage selection process.

Nominations for these prestigious awards have been arrived at after a comprehensive quantitative research of India's best businesses. Some of the nominations received for the awards are of famous industry stalwarts and well known CFOs of buoyant companies like KC Birla, (UltraTech), Moses Elias (Colgate), D.D. Rathi (Grasim), S. Radhakrishnan (Cipla), Ram S. Ramasundar (Ranbaxy) and Rajiv Rattan (Indiabulls Financial Services Ltd).

A poll amongst senior management in corporate India and special industry groups will further shortlist the nominations. Eminent jury comprise Infosys Technology LTD director-HR & ENR TV Mohandas Pai, FPSB India chairman Shailesh Haribhakti, AV Brila Group CFO Sumant Sinha, Deloitte Haskins and Sells joint managing partner Dileep Choksi, ICICI Securities LTD MD Subrata Mukherji and HDFC MD Keki Mistry have been appointed to select winners in different award categories in the third stage

Commenting on the CNBC-TV18 CFO Awards 2006, a spokesperson of CNBC-TV18 said, "The CFO's function has transformed beyond recognition in recent years. Today's CFO faces immense challenges from regulators, standard setters, investors and other stakeholders. These Awards will provide an in-depth insight into the best practices adopted by industry's top CFOs across sector while benchmarking successful strategies that would help organizations across industries to enhance and maximize its potential. India Inc's top CFOs have successfully structured their finance departments towards sustainable growth and these awards will assist in shaping the agenda for the finance function of the future."

Categories for the CFO Awards are:
best CFO in the following Sectors

Auto & Auto Ancillaries
Telecommunication Sector
FMCG Sector
Healthcare Services
Financial Services
IT & ITES sector
Engineering & Capital Goods
Basic Materials - Commodities
Oil & Allied Services
Media
Diversified

Most Promising Entrant into the big league
Mergers & Acquisition Category
Best CFO Viewers Choice
CFO of the year

http://www.indiantelevision.com/mam/headlines/y2k6/nov/novmam55.htm

IBLA 2006 all set to recognise and honour Indian corporate honchos November 20, 06 exchange4media Mumbai Bureau

Indian Business Leader Awards (IBLA) 2006, to be held on December 7 at Mumbai, is the flagship award property of the TV18 Network. Aimed at recognising and rewarding the Indian corporate leaders and CEOs for their efforts in growing India Inc, the theme for this year's award is 'Indian business leadership going global'.

IBLA 2006 will have five more categories than the previous three, taking the overall figure to eight categories. Moreover, the high-profile jury for the year is led by Infosys Chief Mentor N R Narayana Murthy.

The widened award categories at IBLA 2006 will now include: 'The most promising entrant into the big league'; 'First Generation Entrepreneur of the Year'; 'Global Achiever of the Year'; 'Social Enterprise of the Year'; 'Outstanding Contribution to the Cause of Indian Business'; 'Lifetime Achievement'; 'Business Woman of the Year'; and 'Outstanding Business Leader of the Year'.

While IBLA scans India for the best, Asian Business Leader Awards (ABLA) scans Asia for the most outstanding business people. This year, they will hand out four awards to the best in the region and the award categories are: 'The Asian Business Leader of the Year'; 'Corporate Citizen of the Year'; 'Innovator of the Year'; and 'Talent Management Award'.

It may be recalled that Anand Mahindra, MD, Mahindra and Mahindra has won the Asian Business Leader of the Year, 2006.

TV18 posts 70% revenue growth; Net profit up 44% (YoY)

TV18** posts 70% Revenue Growth; Net Profit up 44% (YoY)
Network*** Revenue More Than Doubles (YoY)
Scheme of Arrangement made Effective from September 27, 2006;
Record Date for Demerger set for November 24, 2006
Internet Revenue (Web18) rises over 200% (YoY)

** Including revenues from CNBC-TV18, CNBC-Awaaz, Moneycontrol.com & Commoditiescontrol.com. Current quarter’s revenue/cost strictly NOT comparable with the same quarter in the previous year, since revenue/cost of Awaaz are being included from this quarter onwards.
*** Including TV18 Consolidated Revenue plus Revenues from CNN-IBN, IBN7 & other Web18 Portals

Financial Highlights :

Q2 Revenue at Rs. 530.08 mn, Up 70% YOY
Operating Profit at Rs. 249.04 mn, Up 44% YOY
Operating Margin at 47% - dips under 50% largely on account of the consolidation of CNBC Awaaz revenues and costs in P&L
Net Profit at Rs. 160.45 mn, Up 44% YOY
EPS at Rs. 7.63

Operational Highlights :

TV18 Network (CNBC-TV18, CNBC-Awaaz, CNN-IBN, IBN7 and internet portals) grow over 100% in revenue on YoY basis.
CNBC-TV18 and CNBC-Awaaz continue to dominate the Business News category. Both channels maintain a solid leadership position, with over 70% marketshare of the Business News Category
CNN-IBN* leads across relevant target groups in key markets and time-bands across the country.
IBN 7 is showing impressive growth in market size.
Internet revenues from portals under Web18 grow over 3 times over past year.

Following the meeting of the Board of Directors, Raghav Bahl, Television Eighteen’s Managing Director said: “This has been an exceptionally good quarter for us. As a Network, we have doubled revenues - while our listed entity has posted a 70% year-on-year growth. We have successfully concluded our Scheme of Demerger, and set November 24 as the Record Date - this will unlock an enormous amount of value for our shareholders, who will now enjoy the fruits of ownership in all our businesses, including CNN-IBN, IBN7, Home Shopping Network and Studio18. With several exciting forays in news broadcasting, internet portals, motion pictures and other multi-media platforms on the anvil, our shareholders can continue to look forward to a period of sustained growth."

*CNN-IBN is a part of Global Broadcast News Limited (GBN).GBN is proposing to make a public issue of securities and has filed a draft offer document with SEBI . GBN's draft offer document is available on the respective websites of SEBI (www.sebi.gov.in); ICICI Securities (www.icicisecurities.com ) and Kotak Mahindra Capital (www.kmcc.co.in).

Television Eighteen India Limited Consolidated Financial Performance (Unaudited Consolidated) for the quarter ended 30th September 2006

Rs.mn.

Particulars	Jul-Sept 2006-07 Q2	Jul-Sept 2005-06 Q2	Apr-Jun 2006-07 Q1
Revenue from operations (excluding other income)
News Operations	476.92	295.31	364.52
Internet and software operations	53.16	17.05	51.54
Total Operating Revenue	530.08	312.36	416.06
Operating expenditure	281.04	139.68	202.30
Operating profit	249.04	172.68	213.76
Operating margin	46.98%	55.28%	51.38%
Net Outflow on Revenue Share with CNBC	(14.11)	(8.68)	(12.57)
Interest/Income from investments	17.92	10.74	19.49
Interest Expense	(48.38)	(22.25)	(39.74)
Interest (Net)	(30.47)	(11.51)	(20.25)
Depreciation	(38.42)	(31.99)	(34.79)
Extra ordinary charges	0.00	0.00	0.00
Pre-tax profits	166.04	120.50	146.15
Provision for Current Tax/FBT	4.52	6.75	2.03
Profits after tax (before minority interest and ESOP charge out)	161.52	113.75	144.12
Minority Interest	1.07	2.20	5.92
Profits after tax and minority interest (before ESOP charge out)	160.45	111.55	138.20
ESOP charge out	24.71	11.61	17.03
Profits after tax and ESOP charge out	135.74	99.94	121.17
Exchange Fluctations	(0.08)	(0.18)	3.48
Profits after exchange flucations	135.82	100.12	117.69
Provision for Deferred tax	0.00	0.00	0.00
Net Profit after Deferred Tax	135.82	100.12	117.69
Paid up equity share capital	210.43	210.30	210.43
EPS (Rs.) before ESOP charge out	7.63	5.30	6.57
EPS (Rs.) after ESOP charge out	6.45	4.75	5.59

Word Document (123K) |

PDF (439 K)

At the "Heart of Business" with CNBC-TV18

"I expect to pass through life but once. If therefore, there be any kindness I can show, or any good thing I can do to any other fellow being, let me do it now, and not defer or neglect it, as I shall not pass this way again"

- William Penn

Promoted by Infosys Technologies Limited, the Infosys Foundation offers the promise of a better tomorrow, through its projects across India in the areas of healthcare, education, social rehabilitation and the arts.
Satyam is committed to leverage the power of IT to bridge the 'digital divide' that limits opportunities for success and prosperity, and thereby, transform lives of the less privileged.
The Azim Premji Foundation run by the Wipro chairman is working on providing elementary schooling to thousands of underprivileged children. It believes in partnering to guarantee learning in school.
Dr. Reddy's Foundation acts as a social change catalyst that fosters, develops and promotes initiatives at individual / group / organization levels to promote sustainable human and social development.

Concern for the community is often mistaken for socialism. On the contrary, capitalism thrives only when every citizen is an asset in economic activity and has opportunities to succeed. It is toward this end that the gaining significance of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) among major conglomerates in India has slowly but steadily set in motion the wheels of corporate activism bringing about vital changes for the better in the lives of millions of underprivileged.

Taking a cue from the trend that India Inc is moving towards, CNBC-TV18 has put a spotlight on the triple bottom line philosophy through a unique, brand new series "Heart of Business', a series that showcases real life stories of how India Inc has changed the lives of thousands of Indians.

Expected to launch in the third week of September this year, and hosted by Shereen Bhan, this series of half-hour feature programme will travel from the metros to the heart of rural India, meeting the business institutions and individuals making a difference to the lives of the underprivileged.

"While economic value brings a company into being and keeps it viable, an extension of this approach widens the company's sense of existence. The Heart of Business series endeavors to highlight the fact that, notwithstanding the main objective of enhancing shareholder value, CSR is a concrete, sustainable, acceptable, and valuable as a change agent, particularly in the context of both rural and urban India. CSR in India has underlined the need for public-private partnership with well-defined controls and processes for the best use of resources for wider and sustainable social change" says a spokesperson of CNBC-TV18 while commenting on Heart of Business.

'Heart of Business' will explore well-defined controls and processes used by the biggest names in the smallest villages - Infosys, Wipro, ABB, Accenture, Philips, Dr. Reddy's, Satyam Computer Services and learn how best they use resources for wider and sustainable social change.

Surya Mantha to head TV18 Group's Internet Businesses

Television Eighteen Group has appointed Surya Mantha as the Chief Executive Officer for their Internet business arm - Web 18.

Prior to joining Web18, Surya was heading the Interactive Service business for Sify India based out of Chennai. Before joining Sify, Surya spent several years at RealNetworks in Seattle WA, USA, in several marketing and management roles including GM of Broadband Solutions and Head of Evangelism and GM Solutions and Business Operations for the Real Broadcast Network (RBN), Real's Content Delivery Network. He brings with him 15 years of proven leadership that spans business management, consulting, product & service development, product management & marketing across a range of business & consumer software, hardware & services companies.

Surya started his career in the Corporate Research Group of Xerox Corporation where his work focused on Structured Document Processing and Document Management. Surya has a B.Tech in Computer Science and Engineering from IIT, Kanpur, a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Utah, Salt LakeCity, and an MBA from the Simon School at the University of Rochester, NY.

This follows close to the Group acquiring three Internet companies - Cricketnext.com, Compareindia.com and Urban Eye, a web design and technology firm. The acquisitions will help the group consolidate its focus on the Internet business further. This was the second round of acquisitions that Web18 has announced. The company acquired stakes in Yatra.com and Jobstreet.com India a few months ago. Web18's existing three portals - moneycontrol.com, ibnlive.com and commoditiescontrol.com are market leaders in their respective spaces.

The Indian Internet industry is on the verge of explosive growth. By 2008, the online user base is expected to grow to 100 million. Web18 has been consistently growing its Internet presence organically as well as through relevant acquisitions in the consumer Internet space.

Commenting on Surya's appointment Haresh Chawla, CEO, TV18 Group says, "Surya brings with him a unique combination of skills & experience spanning both technology and consumer understanding, particularly in the Internet space. This will go a long way in establishing Web18's dominance in the consumer Internet space in India. We are also confident that his experience in a global environment will help scale up Web18 into the global league."

About TV18 Group
Television Eighteen (TV18) is India's No.1 broadcast news network with 125,000 sq. ft. of fully integrated broadcast infrastructure, including state-of-the-art hubs in Mumbai and Delhi. Its 2000+ team is spread across the country in 30 bureau locations (4 of which are overseas). TV18 is the only media company in the globe to have partnered with two of the world's largest media conglomerates. Its leading business news channels, CNBC-TV18 and CNBC Awaaz, are in a partnership with NBC Universal - a USD 13 bn company. Its general news channel CNN-IBN is a partnership with Time Warner, the world's largest media conglomerate. Apart from these three channels, its network also includes IBN 7, a leading Hindi general news channel in partnership with the Jagran Group, owners of India's largest Hindi language daily.

TV18 is also a leading player in the Internet business in India. It is India's only television company to have identified and built upon a variety of leading information and transactional services based on the Internet. The company owns moneycontrol.com, which is India's most influential and widely used financial, business and investor platform with more than 5 million users. Moneycontrol.com also features amongst the top 5 financial portals in the world. Apart from this, TV18 owns commoditiescontrol.com - India's leading source for authentic and real-time commodity information, ibnlive.com - India's leading general news portal and poweryourtrade.com, which is a paid equity news and information site. The group is also a significant stakeholder in Jobstreet India, an e-recruitment portal and Yatra.in, which provides online travel service, which it helped found with Norwest Venture Partners.

In addition to the above, the TV18 Group services more than 70 million adults with the 'power to spend'. TV18 India Limited has partnered with SAIF Partners & announced the formation of a fully integrated Home Shopping Network (HSN) for the Indian market, a first-of-its-kind for the country.

CNBC-TV18 All New Investor Camp 2006 comes to Rajkot

Rajkot, August 2, 2006 : CNBC-TV18, India's no.1 business medium, together with Angel Broking, will present the all new Investor Camp on August 5, 2006 in Rajkot.

The CNBC-TV18 Investor Camp , India's biggest investor service initiative covering leading metros and mini-metros in India, after the success of the previous camps held across the country, now comes to Rajkot. The Investor Camp is designed to help investors master the new market, with a host of new tools and strategies.

The CNBC-TV18 Investor camp guides the investors in their endeavor to learn the intricacies of technical analysis and to capitalize on the current market opportunities through investment insights, perspectives on the risk and return expectations of various investment options like stocks, bonds, mutual funds, insurance, real estate and commodities from the top financial experts, academicians, practitioners and representatives of regulatory bodies in a unique workshop module.

This is the first time investors will be able to meet the managements of buzzing companies and sectors, discover the hottest IPO picks and analyse them with their company managements.

Speakers and their topics for the CNBC-TV18 Investor Camp in Rajkot will include:

Sudarshan Sukhani - Technical Trends - "Technical Analysis for short term traders"
Rajen Shah - Angel Broking – "Current Scenario, Market Outlook and Opportunities"
Gul Teckchandani - "Will the mkts go up again?"
Rajat Bose - Rajatkbose.com - "Rajat's bose - 'how to become a succesful trader"

CNBC-TV18 Investor Camp
Date: August 5, 2006
Venue: Hemugadevi Auditorium, Tagore Road, Rajkot
Registration Time: 9 am – 10 pm
Camp: 10 am – 2 pm

Sundeep Malhotra to head TV18 & SAIF Partnered- Home Shopping Network

Sundeep Malhotra of PepsiCo India to join TV18 Network as their CEO for the Home Shopping venture

Television Eighteen has appointed Sundeep Malhotra, as the Chief Executive Officer for its newly launched Home Shopping Network. Prior to this Malhotra was serving as the Executive Vice President–Sales at Pepsi Foods Limited, where he was spearheading the fast emerging Modern Trade & On Premise channels for Pepsi's Indian Subcontinent Beverage businesses. Apart from his 5 year stint with PepsiCo he also has over 15 years of experience in the Retail industry, working with Co's like Bata & Benetton.

TV18 India Limited, in partnership with SAIF Partners, had announced the formation of a fully integrated Home Shopping Network (HSN) for the Indian market, a first-of-its-kind for the country. TV18 and SAIF are committed to this initiative through its various lifecycle stages – and intend to make this initiative the #1 home shopping channel & online venture in India.The organized shopping market is witnessing a tremendous boom and is expected to become a USD 30-35 bn opportunity by 2010.However, a critical factor to note is that the 'spender' or 'spending population' is not easily accessible at a single point. Poor infrastructure, absence of quality locations and complex taxation issues confront sellers. Additional complications arise on account of the mind-boggling availability of choice- with hundreds of brands hitting the shelves every day, making the right choice is a challenge for consumers. The HSN will help bridge this gap and will endeavour to provide a single point reference for 'checking out' products, understanding features and value as well as provide a platform for transactions (sales and service).

The organized shopping market is witnessing a tremendous boom and is expected to become a USD 30-35 bn opportunity by 2010.However, a critical factor to note is that the 'spender' or 'spending population' is not easily accessible at a single point. Poor infrastructure, absence of quality locations and complex taxation issues confront sellers. Additional complications arise on account of the mind-boggling availability of choice- with hundreds of brands hitting the shelves every day, making the right choice is a challenge for consumers. The HSN will help bridge this gap and will endeavour to provide a single point reference for 'checking out' products, understanding features and value as well as provide a platform for transactions (sales and service).

Commenting on Sundeep's appointment Haresh Chawla, Group CEO, TV18 says "Sundeep brings with him an immense knowledge of both consumer behaviour and fast changing channel & sales dynamics which are critical for this business. I am confident that his robust consumer orientation and his diversified Retail & Organised trade experience, will give Home Shopping Network a cutting edge."

An Expose That Will Shock The Nation CNN-IBN and DIG Exposes The BEGGAR MAFIA' In India
Watch the special investigation carried out by CNN-IBN and DIG "Beggars don't Scream"…today, July 29, 2006 at 8:00 pm

New Delhi, July 29, 2006:
THE BEGGAR MAFIA LURE POOR PEOPLE WITH PROMISES OF MORE EARNINGS TO GET THEIR LIMBS CHOPPED OFF AND PUSH THEM INTO BEGGING…

THERE IS A NETWORK OF DOCTORS ACROSS NORTH INDIA THAT DOES THIS GORY JOB...

Its not about being below the poverty line, its not about desperation nor being a destitute… begging today is not about being helpless but is emerging as a very lucrative trade in India, acquiring the status of a profession, with doctors as its support system. A CNN-IBN & DIG investigation will expose an alarming reality about the Beggar Mafia, which operates in India tonight on CNN-IBN at 8:00pm. The exclusive series " Beggars Don't Scream", will disclose how poor people are kidnapped or lured into getting their limbs amputated to become a beggar. The investigation will take the cover off the medical practitioners who act as the backbone, supporting the mafia in this gory job.

In an undercover operation, CNN-IBN reporters discovered that a network of doctors supports Beggar Mafia across northern India in cities like Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad, and Bareilley etc. For the greed of earning a few substantial extra bucks, these doctors are ready to forget their professional ethics and code of conduct. The investigation reveals the brutal truth of these doctors, who charge large sums of money and comply with the Beggar Mafia in amputating limbs of perfectly normal people and force them into begging.

'Beggars Don't Scream' is an eye-opener by CNN-IBN's special investigation team. The programme will reinstate the truth featured time and again by Bollywood in movies like Boot Polish, Khatarnak, Shaan, Parinda etc about the Beggar Mafia in India. From reel to real life, this investigation brings home the chilling reality of this gory lucrative trade, which as per a recent statement made by a Maharashtra minister is a 180 crore industry in Mumbai alone. This investigation will leave you in no doubt about the existence of such a horrific trade practice and the people involved in this inhuman act. CNN-IBN's exclusive report undoubtedly will create an impact on every middle class conscience.

IBN 7 Launches 'Citizen Journalist'
-A Citizen for a Citizen's Initiative

New Delhi July 5, 2006:
Practicing its philosophy of inclusive journalism IBN 7 launches 'Citizen Journalist' to the Hindi news space . Hitherto CNN-IBN, the fellow channel of the TV 18 Network, was empowering the common man through the Citizen Journalism initiative. 'Citizen Journalist' encourages the viewers to document in pictures or videos, anything around them that should be brought to the nation's notice. The most relevant reports sent will be aired on the channel, duly crediting the viewer.

Citizens can report on news items of importance across the country by sending in a MMS to 2622, SMS CJ (Story) to 2622 or by calling IBN 7's help-line at 0120-2515340. Citizen Journalists may also e-mail their stories to citizen@ibnlive.com or even post their stories on www.ibnlive.com. Citizen Journalist, the initiative started by CNN-IBN and has over 2000 stories in its bank within just six months.

Ashutosh, Managing Editor, IBN 7 said, "We at IBN 7 endeavor to infuse our mission statement 'Khabar Har Keemat Par' in every individual's life, and ' Citizen Journalist' an ideal route to capture it. This initiative by CNN-IBN is exemplary and laudable. We are confident that IBN 7 will also receive an encouraging response and attain similar success"

Editor-n-Chief, CNN-IBN, Rajdeep Sardesai said, " Citizen Journalist is an idea whose time has come. It 's a way of engaging the viewer, of making him/her an active participant in the process of newsgathering, of making television news truly interactive. The big idea is to build a citizenry that is engaged with public life."

Network \| Partners \| People \| Reports \| Careers \| Contact \| Complaint Redressal copyright 2007. Network18

Content on this page requires a newer version of Adobe Flash Player.