Turner International and Global Broadcast News (GBN), a TV18 group company, have announced a partnership to launch a cobranded, 24-hour, English-language general news channel in India. Rajdeep Sardesai will be the editor-in-chief of the channel. The co-branded service, CNN-IBN, will build upon the foundation of TV18's newsgathering experience and infrastructure in India, bolstered by CNN's extensive global news network.
GBN's proposed channel known earlier as India Broadcast News (IBN) and now co-branded as CNN-IBN will have access to CNN's live breaking news as well as key feature programmes. This alliance will, for the first time ever, enable Indian viewers to view local news as well as relevant global news from CNN on the same platform.
Headquartered in New Delhi, CNN-IBN will be supported by over 20 bureaus countrywide, along with a team of experienced newspersons and production staff, backed by TV18's state-of-the-art broadcast infrastructure and newsgathering technology.
"The new channel will focus on providing robust and high quality news from every corner of India with a complete commitment to the needs and aspirations of the Indian viewer, while CNN International will continue to deliver global news to Indian viewers," said a statement issued by the two companies.
About 56 per cent of India's TV-owning homes, or about 61 million, view cable and satellite channels. News channels earn about 10 per cent, or Rs 5 billion ($111 million), of advertising revenue, with 28 news channels chasing the money and more planning to launch, according to TAM Media Research.
"The news channel is built on the age-old ethic that editorial sovereignty is inviolable and this shall be a cornerstone of GBN's partnership with CNN. It will be a journalist-driven channel rooted in the realities of modern India," promised Sardesai.
"With nationwide news gathering capabilities, superior journalistic talent, and a passion for news, the new service will endeavour to get the news first and direct from the ground. In a fast-globalising India, access to CNN's global news network will add immense value for our audiences," he said.
CNN has similar arrangements in Spain and Turkey and now stands to expand its news coverage in India, which currently reaches about 10 million homes in the country. It is the second such attempt to expand CNN's coverage in India. The network came under fire in 1995 when it signed a partnership agreement with state-run Doordarshan.
Chris Cramer, managing director, CNN International, said, "This service will complement CNN International's global news offering and marks another milestone in CNN's efforts to move closer to its audience though local partnerships. "
"With a history of editorial independence and vitality, the enterprising local media is playing an increasingly important role in keeping Indians informed as the global influence of India continues to grow," said Steve Marcopoto, President and Managing Director, Turner Broadcasting System Asia Pacific Inc.
"The alliance is the first of its kind for CNN and Turner in the Asia Pacific. The service will leverage the combined international and local journalistic expertise of each partner to provide Indian news viewers unparalleled coverage of global and local events as they unfold, from an Indian perspective," said Anshuman Misra, managing director, Turner International India.
GBN, a TV18 group company, is a 74:26 joint venture between the TV18 group and professionals Rajdeep Sardesai, Sameer Manchanda and Haresh Chawla. GBN's charter is to launch channels in the general news space under the editorial leadership of Sardesai, one of India's most renowned TV journalists.
CNN's combined branded networks and services are available to more than two billion people in more than 200 countries and territories in six different languages. CNN International can be seen in more than 186 million television households and hotel rooms, including over 30 million in the Asia Pacific, via a network of 38 satellites.
CNN.com's news websites include international and US editions of CNN.com as well as five local language sites in Arabic, German, Japanese, Korean, and Spanish. The websites also support mobile services, including a PDA service on Avant Go and a breaking news SMS news alert service.
Earlier this week, Turner International entered into a strategic tie-up with Mobile2win India to capitalise on the expanding wireless and emerging technologies business in the country. The company announced that the new short code for Turner's channels CNN, Cartoon Network and Pogo will be 8558.
Turner International is the arm of Turner Broadcasting System Inc (TBS) charged with the sales and marketing of the company's news and entertainment programming outside the United States. TBS, a subsidiary of Time Warner Inc, is a major producer of news and entertainment around the world.
TV 18 has just posted a 55 per cent growth in revenues at Rs 30.82 crore during the second quarter ending September 30, 2005. During the period, the net profit grew by 42 per cent at Rs 10.01 crore. Raghav Bahl, TV 18 managing director, said, "This quarter has been good for all our businesses, with every operation posting a strong sequential and year-on-year growth. While our flagship, CNBC-TV18, generated strong cash flows, our net businesses have begun contributing significantly to the bottomline."
