Pearson PLC, the publisher of Financial Times newspaper, is planning to start a new daily business newspaper in India with local partner Network 18 Media & Investments Ltd, which controls India's largest business news television channel, CNBC-TV18, the Wall Street Journal has reported.
Pearson is looking to boost its profile in India's growing media market, according to a person familiar with its plans. While the newspaper industry is struggling in many developed countries, it has been expanding in India on growing spending from advertisers hoping to get the attention of India's increasingly affluent middle class.
Pearson has ended its 15-year relationship with local business daily, the Business Standard. The Financial Times had been sharing content with the daily and bought a 14% stake for around $3 million in 2004. The Business Standard said Friday that Pearson had sold the stake to the Kotak Mahindra Group.
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A spokeswoman for the Financial Times in London said the paper has ended its relationship with the Business Standard. "We are very interested in the Indian market and are looking at what opportunities there are," said the spokeswoman. She said no deals have been signed yet and declined to comment on Network 18.
The Business Standard will have access to Financial Times content until the end of this year. Pearson hopes to launch its new publication -- in which under Indian laws, it will be allowed to hold only up to a 26% stake, as early as December, according to the person familiar with its plans.
While India already has at least five business dailies, Pearson is betting that a paper backed by two respected names in journalism will be able to grab readers from weaker competitors, the person said. HT Media Ltd.'s Indian business daily, Mint, has an exclusive content agreement with The Wall Street Journal. The Wall Street Journal is owned by News Corp. which competes with Pearson globally.
