Dear Investor,

Two updates on TV Today

1). The adcap case going on between News Broadcasters (Like TV Today) and TRAI which was scheduled to be heard in Delhi High Court yesterday, i.e. 24th March 2015, has been further adjourned to 24th July 2015. (For background and details, refer to slide No. 43-45 of Initiating Coverage Report dated 2nd Jan 2015).

Though there are early signs that the ruling could be in favor of broadcasters or there could be an out-of-court settlement, it would be prudent to stay away from speculating/betting big as it might continue to be an over-hang on the stock till the time matter is resolved.

We suggest to maintain existing position (half the proposed allocation) and double up only once we have further clarity.

For Instance: We would be happy to have allocated 5% of our portfolio to TV Today if there were no regulatory overhang. Since there is one going on, we would keep allocation to half i.e. 2.5% of the portfolio and increase it to 5% only once overhang is taken care of.

2). As per news reported by exchange4media.com News Link

Vivek Law
"Mr. Vivek Law has been appointed as Editor, Business Television, TV Today Group. Law will lead the consumer and personal finance vertical across the Group and give it a multi-media dimension. He will be based at ITG Mediaplex, Noida. The news was confirmed by industry sources.
Prior to joining TV Today Group, Law was Editor, Bloomberg TV India, where he was responsible for building the channel in line with global practices. He has anchored many leading shows like Exposed, Fightback, Market Guru, Smart Money, Courtroom, Big Story, and In Conversation. With over 21 years of experience, Law has also worked with CNBC TV 18, Economic Times, Business Standard, Financial Express and The Statesman.
Law was with India Today in 2002-2004 as Associate Editor."

If this news is correct, TV Today might be in the process of launching a business news channel as they do not have one already.

There has also been a speculation that the group is in the process of launching a 24 hours shopping channel (Like HomeShop18). Shopping channels in India is a decent sized category and is rising fast.

To summarize, there has been a lot going on with TV Today:

• It is undergoing a big change in its business model due to digitization,
• Company has been attracting the best talent from the industry in an attempt to better monetize its prized assets of Aaj Tak/Headlines Today,
• It might be tapping new avenues for growth like business & shopping channel, and
• Capital allocation is getting better as signaled by the decision to exit loss-making radio business rather than bidding in Radio Phase III Auction.

Let us HOLD the existing position.

Mr. Vivek Law's LinkedIn Profile

Adcap case adjourned to 24 July; broadcasters hope govt will reverse earlier order

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court has adjourned the petition by the News Broadcasters Association (NBA) and others challenging the advertising cap of 12 minutes per hour sought to be imposed by the government to 24 July.

The NBA and regional broadcasters along with music channels informed the court about recent developments vis-à-vis the new government and highlighted the fact that they were awaiting the government’s response against their joint representation.

The Court agreed to the adjournment in order to give some more time for the aggrieved broadcasters and government to represent and decide an amicable solution amongst themselves.

The order that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) will not take any action against any channel pending the petition will continue. In an earlier hearing, the Court had, at the regulator's instance, directed that all channels keep a record of the advertisements run by them.

TRAI sought to tell the Court that the matter had been pending for long, but the bench headed by Chief Justice G Rohini said if the matter could be resolved, then it was better to give more time.

For the broadcasters, this is a major relief even Information and Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley recently voiced his views against an ad cap on broadcasters.

The NBA had challenged the ad cap rule, contending that TRAI does not have jurisdiction to regulate commercial airtime on television channels.

Apart from the NBA, the petition have been filed by Sarthak Entertainment, Pioneer Channel Factory, E24 Glamoru, Sun TV Network, TV Vision, B4U Broadband, 9X Media, Kalaignar, Celebrities Management, Eanadu Television and Raj Television.

The news and regional broadcasters fear that the capping of commercial airtime will curtail their ad revenues. They also argue that the ad cap must be brought only after the benefits of cable TV digitisation start showing.

Source:
indiantelevision.com