The mass media route does not make sense for biz news genre: Megha Tata

The news broadcasting space, especially English news, made headlines just a few weeks ago with several heated debates regarding dual LCNs and usage of landing pages. The shutting down of NDTV Profit created much flutter in this space, while the launch of Republic TV and its aftermath reverberated across the broadcast industry. 

Amidst all these developments, English business news channel BTVi (formerly Bloomberg TV) has been creating a space for itself. As per BARC data for Week 28 (July 8-14) BTVi was ranked No. 4, behind CNBC TV18, ET Now, and NDTV Profit & NDTV Prime. 

Megha Tata, COO, BTVi, remarked, “The News genre is not an easy segment due to the tough competition, especially for BTVi because of its rebranding in the past. The English news genre has been in the news because of NDTV Profit shutting down and other players exiting the market. That’s why the launch of Bloomberg|Quint will be interesting. We have taken a conscious effort to present news which is not just talking jargons, but resonates with an average financial viewer.” 

Tata believes that Bloomberg’s exit didn’t affect the channel as Siddharth Zarabi continued to be the Executive Editor for BTVi, besides the appointment of Muralidhar Swaminathan has added to the channel’s credibility and seriousness. “What we bring forth in terms of content to our consumers is our differentiator factor,” she added. 

BTVi has partnered with Reuters, the world’s largest international multimedia news provider, to bring financial and business news from across the globe to Indian viewers. Most people want to know about the financial world from people with experience and expertise and BTVi presents the information for a common person to understand. 

Tata noted, “People in the position of power in the news space are an integral part of the ecosystem. Most of the viewers who want to know about the financial world, want to know it from people who have the experience and the expertise, but we present the news in a manner that they can understand and that is bearing fruits.” 

According to her, “The problem with this genre is that it does not get captured in numbers, but when you start creating shows which go beyond ratings, you get a sense of what’s working and what’s not.” 

Tata also claimed that while the English news genre has grown about 104 per cent over the last few years, BTVi has grown by 240 per cent. “Pathbreaking stories like the Raymond case, the India Bulls case and the Muthoot Finance case, among others, have attributed to the great numbers for the channel. The channel’s market share, which was in the range of 3-4 per cent, today stands at 6-8 per cent. 

On the digital front, the channel has been very active on social media, especially Twitter, with their followers going up from 1,000k to 3,000k post the change in name change from Bloomberg TV to BTVi. “Shows like ‘Financial Planner’ help small time investors on how and where to invest, which has worked really well for the channel,” Tata added. 

The channel’s focus continues to be the major metros as that is where the maximum viewership comes from since it caters to niche audience and where English business news consumption is on the higher side. “Going down the mass media route does not make sense for our genre,” Tata said. 

Speaking about the content strategy for the channel, Tata said that there won’t be any major changes as the channel has been witnessing traction on the current shows. Segments like Bollywood, Lifestyle and Automobile are also doing well for the channel, she added. 

The channel, which has so far been outsourcing its sales, is now setting up a dedicated sales team, and as the team expands, there will be more advertisers on board. “Our marketing strategies are an ongoing process. Moreover, we will be using digital extensively for all the launches and shows,” Tata added.