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  • The media buying for Jyothy Laboratories is handled by Lintas Media Group as well. Put together, the account is estimated to be around Rs150 crores

    LMG wins Henkel India media buying duties

    By A Correspondent

     

    In a multi-agency pitch for the newly acquired portfolio of Henkel, Jyothy Laboratories Ltd has awarded the media buying responsibility of Henkel brands to Lintas Media Group. Mudra Max will handle the Planning mandate.

     

    The media buying for Jyothy Laboratories is handled by Lintas Media Group and therefore, in a reiteration of their faith in LMG, they have awarded the Henkel business to them as well. Put together, the account is estimated to be around Rs150 crores. The other agencies invited for the pitch were OMD and Mudra.

     

    K. Raghavendra – General Manager Marketing, Jyothy Laboratories confirmed that the media buying AOR  for Jyothy Laboratories Limited and Henkel will be handled by Lintas Media Group and the Planning mandate has been given to Mudra Max.

     

    Suresh Balakrishna of LMG said: “We are extremely delighted to have won the Henkel business. We have constantly delivered on the Jyothy Laboratries brands and therefore, this new win not only encourages us, but also spurs us on to deliver better business solutions to our clients at optimal costs.”

     

    The business pitch was led by the newly-elevated COO, Mr Premjeet Sodhi. “The science that we bring to the process of buying, negotiation, optimization and evaluation, with the help of some of our unique proprietary tools, has made our product truly cutting-edge. We are happy that Jyothy Laboratories has recognized this and this win will ensure that we continuously strive to deliver a better media product to our clients, year after year,” he said.

     

  • Ditto TV is India's first Over-The-Top TV distribution platform offering live TV & on-demand content on mobile and traditional devices

    Zee aims to Ditto its DTH success story

     

    By Rishi Vora

     

    It is said that one who adapts as per the changing times is the one who succeeds in the long run. Recession or no recession – it doesn’t matter. If organisations continue to focus on what the market needs, success stories will continue to emerge and growth will eventually take precedence over many a hurdles.

     

    Adapting to the market and launching a relevant product in India’s broadcast sector is Zee Enterprises Ltd; the company that has been credited for making early inroads in the TV entertainment space in India and making it big internationally. It has now set an example in the New Media space with the launch of Ditto TV.

     

    Punit Goenka

    Ditto TV is India’s first Over-The-Top TV distribution platform offering live TV and on-demand content to end consumers on mobile phones, tablets, laptops, desktops, entertainment boxes and connected TVs.  The product has been brought out in the Indian market with the help of technology partner, Siemens.  “The offering fundamentally turns appointment viewing as a concept on its head,’ said Punit Goenka, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, ZEEL.

     

    On what it means to the group Mr Goenka said: “It adds a different dimension to business model. The idea was to bring cutting-edge wireless broadband digital services to customers across the world. Over the years, we have launched many industry firsts, but this is a launch that I’m excited about; I believe that Ditto TV will transform the way content is consumed and monetised.”

     

    Vishal Malhotra

    “For our channel partners- namely, for content owners, distributors, retail, OEMs and service providers, Ditto TV creates unique revenue generating opportunities,” explained Vishal Malhotra, Business Head – New Media, Zee Entertainment Enterprises, on what it means to its channel partners.

     

    Apart from India, the platform will be available in the UK, UAE, New Zealand and Australia. And United States will follow in the priority list, by end of this quarter.

    So yes, it’s an experiment by Zee, but as experts have pointed out, it’s a risk worth taking as consumption patterns of consumers are going through a sea change with the advent of digital technologies.

     

    Ditto TV will offer features such as adaptive streaming, elaborative programme guide, content recommendation engine and an interface which is integral to enhance the user experience. Moreover, it allows for complete customisation in terms of cost as well as content – where users are given an option to handpick a basket of channels as per their own personal preferences.  Price points start at Rs49, where the consumer gets access to three channels of his choice.

     

    Yogesh Radhakrishnan, a veteran in the field of TV distribution in India, said: “There are some issues like inadequate bandwidth; broadband connectivity is a pain, but having said that OTT is a technology for the future. For it to reach to the masses, it will take some time.”

     

    As for the broadcasters, Ditto TV comes in as an additional platform to showcase their channels on. And just as the thought crosses the mind, as to how many broadcasters will Zee be able to get on board, the news is that already 21 channels have agreed to use this platform.

     

    MSM Group, TV Today Network, BBC, and Zee are a few networks that will allow their channels to be available on the platform. A few important contracts yet to be signed which includes Reliance Broadcast, Star and Times Network. The company expects to offer a complete set of 50 channels shortly.

     

    The sense is that it is a matter of time before the rest of the industry embraces this new platform from Zee. As informed by Mr Goenka, monetisation via advertising can only happen once it reaches out to a critical mass – at least 5 per cent of the audience which consumes TV content on a daily basis. So there is still some time for advertisers to worry about this new delivery platform. But, that doesn’t make this venture of any less significance for Zee.

     

    Mr Goenka pointed out that a significant investment has gone into setting up Ditto TV and that he expects his new media division to contribute about 10 per cent to the group in terms of revenue in the next five years. Needless to say that Ditto TV is the first step in the bigger game to boost the company’s digital and new media play.

     

    On what this means to DTH and cable operators, Mr Radhakrishnan explained: “These are very, very early days. There is no doubt that OTT is the technology of future, but for now, it is just a beginning and not a threat to other distribution channels. Also, it is unlikely to replace the existing mode of distribution channels, as new media and technology comes as a welcome ‘value addition’ to the business.”

     

    So whether Ditto is able to script a ditto success story that of Dish TV – Zee’s DTH offering, is something to watch out for. For now it looks like a welcome initiative – both from the consumer and the trade point of view.

     

  • The digital entertainment division of Reliance Group has tied up with Unisys Infosolutions for online streaming of over 200 full-length feature films and music videos on BIGFlix.com.

    BIGFlix to rev up online movie streaming

    By A Correspondent

     

    BIGFlix, a part of Reliance Group’s digital entertainment business, and Unisys Infosolutions, a leading 360 degree digital provider of VAS content and enterprise messaging solutions, on Wednesday announced their partnership for online streaming of over 200 full-length feature films and music videos on BIGFlix.com.

     

    Commenting on the partnership, Shreyash Sigtia, Business Head, BIGFlix Pvt Ltd said: “BIGFlix+, beingIndia’s first and only movie-on-demand subscription service, offers an exhaustive choice of HD Quality movies to the net savvy movie buffs inIndia, at their convenience, across multiple internet connected devices. We are glad to be associated with Unisys Infosolutions, a pioneer in providing value added services. This association is extremely vital for us as it will provide aid in reaching out to masses effectively.”

     

    “As a constant endeavour to equip consumers with latest blockbuster movies and other video content, this partnership proves to be a step closer to enhance, strengthen and expand the MOD (Movie on Demand) service in India” he added.

     

    Commenting on the announcement, Shelley Chaudhury, founder and Managing Director, Unisys Infosolutions said, “We have grown significantly from a regional content specialist to a strong contender for digital distribution of Bollywood movies, and the partnership with BIGFlix underscores this.  Through this collaboration, we expect to continue playing an essential role in facilitating movie and music producers in increasing the reach of their content to a wider audience.”

     

    Unisys Infosolutions has created a catalogue of new and old Bollywood feature and has also featured popular regional movies as well as over 5000 music videos in more than 15 languages, including Hindi.

     

  • The seventh edition of 'India's Buzziest Brands', a public polling initiative hosted by www.afaqs.com, ranks Airtel as the number one brand across the country.

    Airtel voted India’s ‘buzziest’ brand

    By A Correspondent

     

    Leading marketing communications portal www.afaqs.com announced that Airtel is the number one in the results of its seventh edition of ‘India’s Buzziest Brands’ – a poll-based survey aimed at measuring the viral effect and customer conversations garnered by brands across India.

     

    Airtel, which has been accorded with the coveted “Buzzy Gold” title for emerging at the top, faced stiff competition from Facebook and Flipkart, which bagged the second and the third spot respectively. As per findings of this poll, Airtel is the only telecom operator to place in the top 10.

     

    The poll was carried out on the website from January 30 to February 7. A total of 60 brands were shortlisted for the poll. Voters were sent a link for voting on their email account to avoid digital ballot-stuffing. On visiting the Poll page on the website, the voters were asked to choose five brands that they felt had the greatest ‘buzz’ in the year gone by from the shortlist of 60.

     

    List of the 15 Buzziest Brands as per the India’s Buzziest Brand Poll 2012

     

    1 Airtel
    2 Facebook
    3 Flipkart
    4 Hero
    5 Samsung
    6 Google
    7 Snapdeal
    8 Cadbury
    9 iPhone
    10 Twitter
    11 Vodafone
    12 YouTube
    13 Blackberry
    14 Pepsi
    15 Nokia

     

     

  • The site allows online premium payment, provides fund value, statements and information on claims.

    ICICI Prudential Life launches mobile-specific website

    By A Correspondent

     

    ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company Ltd (ICICI Prudential Life) on Wednesday announced the launch of ‘ICICI Pru Mobile Website’ that provides innovative service options to customers through their mobile phones.

     

    The launch of this mobile website is another milestone in the company’s endeavour to implement technology-centric initiatives to ensure increased convenience and provide the highest quality of service to its customers.

     

    This mobile website can be accessed by any individual by simply typing in www.iciciprulife.com on the mobile browser.

     

    With the launch of the mobile website, the company has successfully enabled customers, prospects and its distribution network to avail various service facilities via their mobile phones.

     

    Speaking on the occasion of the mobile website going live, Madhivanan Balakrishnan, Executive Director, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance said, “Our endeavour has been to introduce technological innovations across our various processes as well as engagements with our customers to ensure increased convenience and efficiency. We closely monitor the changing preferences of an increasingly technology-savvy audience and its need to transact ‘on the go’. The ICICI Pru Mobile website will enable customers to access information regarding their policies as well as enable premium payment through the mobile phones. We are confident that this innovation will be of value to our customers as well as partners.”

     

    ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company is a joint venture between ICICI Bank and Prudential plc.

     

  • PagalPanti appeared in the list of topics breaking globally.

    Red Digital creates the second successful TweetMob for Mirinda

    By A Correspondent

     

    Post the announcement of Mirinda signing up Red Digital for its social media duties and in the back drop of having successfully introduced and executed the concept of a TweetMob, Red Digital yet again created a TweetMob on February 24 for Mirinda. The result this time was even better. Twice in two weeks now, Mirinda TweetMob #tags were one of the most talked about topics on Twitter.

     

    With the hot Indian summer approaching fast, PepsiCo has launched a new campaign for its orange soft drink, Mirinda. The campaign, which orbits around the theme ‘Pagalpanti Bhi Zaroori Hai’, is based on the thought that drinking Mirinda, this summer, is an intense and inescapable experience that leaves one breathless.

     

    “We think of TweetMob as a flashmob on Twitter where our intention is to take over Twitter and engage the twitterati for a certain duration while plugging the brand connect. After the successful execution of the first TweetMob on February 14, it was a challenge for us to out-do ourselves with the benchmarks we set for Mirinda and, more importantly, prove to ourselves that it was not a one-off success by repeating it in a grander manner. It was great to taste success again and take over Twitter,” said Yashraj Vakil, Chief Operating Officer, Red Digital.

     

    The TweetMob started at 3pm on February 24 with a simple question asking people what they thought was crazy enough around them to be called #PagalPanti. The TweetMob lasted till midnight during which Red Digital created and managed conversation around the hashtag ‘#PagalPanti’. Through the TweetMob, Red Digital helped connect Twitter and Facebook users who tweeted about the topic with various Mirinda branded hash tags, creating a plethora of endorsements for the brand.

     

    It wasn’t long before #PagalPanti started trending inIndia. The activity saw 3,700 tweets in the span of 9 hours for @MirindaIndia. Every 50 tweets with #PagalPanti helped the brand reach 7,990 people generating close to 0.6 million views. The brand reach this time was 5 times of what the first TweetMob generated. #Pagalpanti featured among the topics breaking globally and trended in Mumbai,New Delhi,HyderabadandBangalore. @MirindaIndia also saw itself trending in Chennai andHyderabad.

     

    The TweetMob will happen again on March 2 and the following Friday after that.

     

    Commenting on the TweetMob and its success, Harsh Jain, Founder & Managing Director, Red Digital said, “Flashmobs are suppose to be innovative, rebellious and spontaneous. With every flashmob now being represented as a Bollywood song and dance activity, we wanted to showcase their true power in other forms. We chose Twitter because it has become a platform for people to share ideas, collaborate, aggregate and explore new things spontaneously. Twitter is both a place where like-minded people can interact as well as a place for rebels to express their views. We are proud to have created and introduced the concept of the TweetMob; success was just a corollary. The independence of ideating with a bold and social brand like Mirinda has given us this opportunity to explore and innovate. We are thankful as well as determined to create and execute many more path breaking ideas through our association with Mirinda.”

     

    Speaking on Mirinda’s partnership with Red Digital, Ruchira Jaitly, Executive Vice President – Marketing, Beverages (Flavours), PepsiCo India said, “As marketers, we continuously seek ways to engage with the consumers via innovative means. Mirinda’s TweetMobs is a unique innovation on the digital space that utilizes the strengths of the medium effectively to communicate with our consumers on our latest initiative. The idea is fun and youthful and helped to create awareness of our new flavour campaign in a never-before fashion. It is delightful to see the results of this path-breaking idea for the second time in a row.”

     

  • The channel has taken the initiative to felicitate 'real' heroes who make a difference through their daily life and work.

    Zee 24 Taas Ananya Sanman 2011 honours Maharashtra heroes

    By A Correspondent

     

    Maharashtra has had a special place in the history of progressive India. It has produced leaders who have made a great contribution to the development of the country in all walks of life. Be it politics, music, sports, films, literature, theatre, fashion, business, social service, farming, journalism or medicine, Maharashtrians have scripted many ofIndia’s grand success stories.

     

    In this fame-obsessed time, there are people doing phenomenal work without any expectation of recognition. There are people who have contributed to the society and served their respective fields with the devotion that can inspire many.

     

    A man who collects money in the local trains to build a school. A coach who helps kids succeed at the international level in the forgotten game of kabaddi. A police constable who lost his arm while defusing a bomb. These are the real heroes of our society showing real courage in everyday life.

     

    Zee 24 Taas Ananya Sanman is a unique platform which gives due recognition to these real heroes who have considerably contributed in their sphere of work, but are not recognize, and who avoid the limelight. In the fourth edition of the awards, there are seven categories under which unsung heroes are honoured – Entertainment, Sports, Farming, Education, Environment, Social Service and Bravery.

     

    The recipients of these honours will be felicitated by the hands of veterans of those respective fields. The event will conclude with a lifetime achievement honour to a legendary person. Zee 24 Taas Ananya Sanman 2011 is being hosted in association with Loksatta. Tata Sumo Gold, LIC of India, Axis Bank, Ideal e-live, and Rambandhu Masale are the associate sponsors, whereas TJSB Bank is the official banker.

     

  • The online store has over 10 million titles across a wide range of book categories, including hard-to-find international titles.

    HomeShop18 unveils online bookstore

    By A Correspondent

     

    Homeshop18.com has added to books vertical an all new user-friendly online bookstore having a massive catalogue of over 10 million books in more than 100+ categories.

     

    The acquisition of CoinJoos.com has helped HomeShop18 strengthen its books business and tap the massive books market in the country. The company has spruced up its technology backbone to offer book lovers a world-class book shopping experience through a superior browse and search experience.

     

    Commenting on HomeShop18.com’s bookstore going online, Sundeep Malhotra, Founder and CEO, HomeShop18 said, “Books are a critical part of our e-commerce growth strategy and the launch of our bookstore plugs the gap which we felt we had in our product range. This is a category which touches all demographic groups and, therefore, a very critical one and we are very excited to add books to our range of offerings”.

     

    The initiative will make it easier for book lovers across the country to shop much more conveniently with HomeShop18 offering both online payment and cash on delivery options. The company is also expected to make further announcements in the books category in the coming weeks.

     

    HomeShop18 is Network18 group’s online and television retail marketing and distribution venture, and offers a wide product range across several categories.

     

  • A car wash centre that overhauls the entire car? It's neither interesting nor funny. In fact, it suggests to you that the makeover is totally superficial. And the editing is so sloppy, everything simply flies by.

    Debrief: Mahindra Xylo: Er, what just happened?

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    The ‘happy feet’ gaadi Xylo has had a makeover of some sort. But because the communication is all muddled, one isn’t sure what really has changed. Is it a fresh coat of paint? Or new doors? Or perhaps they’ve upgraded the floor mats?

     

    The TVC is completely bizarre. Atul Kasbekar, the ace photographer, is back with his leggy models. This time as they drive around in the Xylo, a bird drops crap on the wind screen, leaving our leggy models pretty aghast. The chivalrous Kasbekar takes the dirty Xylo to an automated car wash (do we have those in India?). The magical car wash doesn’t just clean the Xylo, it ‘redoes’ the entire car. It changes the doors, provides a new shade and perhaps overhauls the engine too. Wow! The very impressed leggy models then fondle the car’s exteriors, though I am sure Kasbekar would have wished they did that to his interiors. (Okay, just kidding!)

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”200″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJ8YMz33h0U[/youtube]

    It’s a disaster, really. A car wash centre that overhauls the entire car? It’s neither interesting nor funny. In fact, it suggests to you that the makeover is totally superficial. And the editing is so sloppy, everything simply flies by, nothing registers, you can’t really tell what exactly has changed out here. Gets worse. The confusion is further compounded as the leggy models and Mr Kasbekar fight for your attention. In the end, you are left with nothing. To be honest, after many exposures I didn’t know what hit me.

     

    Rating: (On a scale of 1 to 5): 1. A good lesson on how to screw up communication.

     

  • Long after carving out its own niche, the Indian PR industry must now redefine its horizons, says Valerie Pinto.

    [PR Channel] Indian PR industry – gearing up to absorb new opportunities

    By Valerie Pinto

     

    The PR industry in India has seen steady growth ever since it carved out its own niche after coming out of the shadow of advertising or its later avatar – MarComm. In today’s knowledge economy, PR has evolved in all its elements and has effectively redefined its role in communications to touch upon newer areas of specialization. Apparently, the scope and dimension of PR today is restructured across a more comprehensive consulting sphere than a mere platform for specific, one-off media deliverables.

     

    Build durable partnerships that reflect a consulting approach

    Today, PR in India is ideally positioned to scale up to the next level and redefine its domain. In a high growth economy of the size of India with myriad issues and events, the opportunities for PR surely weigh more than the threats. PR needs a more comprehensive approach that looks beyond short, cyclic deliverables and include durable partnerships that reflect a consulting approach.

     

    PR will attract bigger budgets as advertising outlays shrink

    With advertising budgets hitting the ceiling and the emphasis more on ‘bang for the buck’ rather than creative hype, PR is set to attract bigger budgets based on longer term strategies and deliverables. The need to define the boundaries of hype-centred mega budget advertising in the knowledge economy grew in relation to the high precision deliverables of PR.

     

    Hiring practices in the PR industry must reflect present-day realities

    The PR industry faces real scarcity of appropriate talent as hiring policy and practices have remained rather antiquated. Industry thought leaders must step in to correct the imbalance and offer guidance in defining the parameters through interactive platforms like conferences, seminars and workshops.

     

    New minds must enter the consulting space within PR

    A consulting approach essentially points to a partnership with emphasis on strategic longer term deliverables. This requires fresh thinking and a broader perspective of what comprises the redefined domain for PR in a fast growing economy.

     

    Adopt a business consulting model to excel and expand current services

    The existing range of services, that the bulk of the PR industry offers, must increase manifold in order to adopt a business consulting approach which is based on the principles of a win-win partnership. Rather than one-off solutions, PR firms should offer a range of services covering not just “prevention” over “cure” for crisis situations but also image management and pre-emptive communication to achieve strategic goals.

     

    Focus on both industry experience and management excellence

    The PR industry’s expansion into a larger domain will be essentially driven by a talented pool of professionals with high levels of industry experience and management excellence. It is absolutely important that the larger horizon is more than sufficiently inculcated into the new crop of PR professionals for them to gauge the challenge ahead.

     

    Showing the way

    The PR industry in India needs to redefine its vision, and actively engage clients to forge win-win partnerships covering not just deliverables but also long-term strategy. Such partnerships require engagement at different levels with the client and their market apart from achieving operational equilibrium wherein they consult the PR agency in all matters regarding communication strategy.

     

    The Indian PR industry is on the cusp of exponential growth as the mood in the economy shifts toward more transparent growth and what has often been described as a “level playing field”. In a better regulated environment, it is PR that promises to balance the delivery of communication in the fast evolving environment. The Indian PR industry is fundamentally strong and should fulfil its potential by making the most of this opportunity.

     

    Valerie Pinto is CEO – Perfect Relations.

     

  • In Media Mullings, Peter Mukerjea on why James Murdoch must move to India

    Peter Mukerjea: Rupert & Son

    By Peter Mukerjea

     

    So, it’s finally happened that James, or JRM as he is known within the company, has stepped down. I’d said that he should (see Firstpost.com article) and for whatever it’s worth, I’m glad that he has.

     

    Enough has been written and no doubt more will be written about the rights and wrongs of the people involved in the entire phone hacking case and we will never know who will finally go to jail for the crimes that are alleged to have been committed.

     

    But that would be looking back and surely it’s much more fun looking forward and trying to gauge what’s about to happen next. If Rupert is true to his word, JRM will now be spending more time on international operations and on the TV business at large . Now that leads me to suggest that he should for Newscorp’s sake spend at least 75% of his time in India looking at new business opportunities that exist in the country. STAR experienced it’s highest ever growth in it’s business under JRM’s watch when he was the CEO in Asia. That’s not a coincidence, I can assure you. Conversely, STAR experienced it’s lowest growth when JRM left the Asia region and handed it over to pixies in Hong Kong who had no clue about India. For example, the lady who was given the baton by JRM had never visited India ever in her life. Strange decision, it has to be said.

     

    JRM, on the other hand, was a respected executive and was seen as a path-breaking scion of his father. And the fact that not everyone loved him was simply par for the course and to be expected. He was effective in reshaping STAR’s fortunes and turning a loss making company into a profitable one.

     

    Incidentally I continue to believe that none of the new channels that popped up in 2007/8 would have happened if Rupert had not taken his eye off Asia but he moved JRM to London to run SKY and with that opened up the gates for newcomers. Some channels failed to make the grade – 9X & Imagine for example, and others did well – Colors & 9XM for instance, but none of these should ever have been allowed to get started given the complete dominance that STAR had on the market. And all the people that went to run these channels, including myself , were almost all from STAR.

     

    Since then STAR has held up well, although after a wobbly start. Credit for which should be given wholly to JRM for giving autonomy to the current leadership in managing their business and most importantly cutting them loose from the Hong Kong intermediary, which was rightly cut to size.

     

    JRM’s big opportunity is now to push ahead with developing a range of new TV and other media products for the India market and enable it to grow speedily to create a very clear leadership position with plenty of blue sky space between the No1 and the rest. And only he can make that happen by physically being there and making the big decisions which would otherwise be lost in power point presentations between numerous layers of management.

     

    This would in turn spur ZEE and Sony and MTV and the rest to do the same and compete with each other and with the pace that STAR would have set for them. This will then collectively turbo-charge and accelerate the industry as a whole and taking full advantage of the economic growth that the country is experiencing. The next 10 years for the media business in India will be huge and despite the slowdown in the global economy the pace of growth will be better than almost anywhere else in the world.

     

    JRM once said “let’s make the best use of a crisis” or words to that effect and I think this is a crisis that has presented itself for just that opportunity. He has moved to New York from London but may be he should have a home in Mumbai too and really shake up the market. There’s tons to do with a very exciting future for a 40-year-old – like JRM, which regular or even above average executives will simply not be able to take full advantage of. They can at best take limited risk, if at all – but JRM can and he should.

     

    Will he or won’t he? Or will he slip in and out of the country quietly, once very few months and leave the big opportunity to the pixies once again? If he ends up doing that he will have missed a great opportunity to grow the business and also to get himself back up and be recognised as being one of the best TV executives in the world. After all, he is the son of Rupert.

     

    Although it started as a fortnightly column, Peter Mukerjea’s Media Mullings will now appear regularly on MxMIndia, but with no definite frequency.

     

  • Is the Dainik Bhaskar group selling its stake to Zee? A BusinessWorld report says it is

    Is the Bhaskar group exiting DNA?

    By A Correspondent

     

    Since the day Zee supremo Subhash Chandra took charge of operations at Diligent Media Corporation (DMC), the company that publishes newspaper Daily News and Analysis (DNA), rumours are rife that co-owners Dainik Bhaskar are exiting the JV. This happened two years ago, and nearly every week since then we hear stories about the Bhaskars selling their stake. There have been times when we’ve heard the same about Mr Chandra too, but if a report on the BusinessWorld website is to be believed, the Dainik Bhaskar Group (DB Corp) is in the process of exiting DMC.

     

    “Following the exit of the Bhaskar Group, Subhash Chandra and his associates will have 100 per cent ownership of Diligent Media. The road map for decoupling the English language media project, launched in June 2005 as a 50:50 JV, was confirmed by a senior D B Corp executive; but the promoters of the Bhaskar Group, the Aggarwal family, said the deal was “yet to be consummated”, the report adds.

     

    (Link: http://www.businessworld.in/businessworld/businessworld/content/Dainik-Bhaskar-Exiting-DNA.html)

     

    The Agarwals are known to be hands-on and aggressive newspaper owners. So while the official reason being given was that Mr Girish Agarwal needed to concentrate on the power projects, it was evident that interest had waned. A Bhaskar spokesperson said he was unaware of any such development.