EntMnt Xclusive Kartikeya Sharma-led India News’ parent co ITV acquires NewsX

[SPANDAN]

English general news channel NewsX may have finally found a buyer. The company that has been on the market for a while is said to be in advanced stages of conversation with Kartikeya Sharma-led news company ITV Media (Information TV) that operates Hindi news channel India News.

A part of Piccadilly Group, ITV is the parent electronic media company for the Group. It also has presence in Haryana and Bihar through region-specific ‘India News’ channels.

Kartikeya Sharma is the Managing Director of Piccadilly Group of Companies. Ever since the company’s launch in late 2008, Sharma has been vocal on the company’s growth plans with various region and language specific news channels in its fold. The core markets for the group have been Northern and Central India.

If the NewsX deal goes through, it will give ITV instant foothold in the English news domain.

As is known, NewsX was launched originally as part of INX News on March 28 2008. Following the slowdown of 2008, in January 2009, INX news owners had to sell NewsX to Indi-Media Network, a partnership between the Former NaiDunia CEO Vinay Chhajlani and Former Businessworld Editor Jehangir Pocha.

In the last three years, NewsX has stayed focussed on the English news domain only. A deal of this nature will finally allow NewsX to be a part of a news network, which given the current Indian market dynamics can be crucial to the very survival of a news channel.

Neither Kartikeya Sharma nor NewsX owners responded to exchange4media’s email on the subject. Sources close to the development, however, confirmed that the deal is in its final stages and is expected to be announced soon.

Some of the other companies that NewsX has been in conversation with included Zee News.
For the record, Piccadilly Group also owns GMI (Good Morning India), which is its print division that publishes daily Hindi newspaper ‘Aaj Samaj’ and weekly political and social affairs Hindi magazine ‘India News’. Aaj Samaj is published from Delhi, Chandigarh,
Gurgaon, Ambala, Panchkula, Mohali and is in the process of launching multiple editions all over Northern India.


source:exchange4media.com

 

[Xen]

Here is Update :

ITV Media acquires NewsX for an undisclosed sum


Information TV (ITV), which operates Hindi news channel India News, on Monday said it had acquired English news channel NewsX for an undisclosed sum.

“The ITV group has taken over the NewsX channel. We have acquired 100 per cent stake,” Piccadilly Group of Companies Managing Director Kartikeya Sharma said.

ITV is part of the New Delhi-based Piccadilly Group of Companies that has multiple interests in print as well as electronic media.
Sharma, however, declined to comment on details of the transaction and also on whether NewsX would be rebranded.

When contacted, Jehangir Pocha, who along with Nai Duniya’s Vinay Chhajlani had bought NewsX from INX Media in 2009, confirmed the development.

NewsX was founded by former STAR India CEO Peter Mukerjea as part of INX Media which also included music and entertainment channels. It was put on the block within 12 months of its launch as it struggled with a financial crunch during the global economic meltdown.

In a joint statement issued later in the night, Chhajlani and Pocha said, “We are happy to hand over the channel to the ITV Group and acknowledge the contribution of the team that has earned NewsX much recognition.”

Sharma said in the statement that “this is a logical market expansion for us and enables us to enter the English news domain while strengthening our presence in the broadcast and digital media space.”

Being part of the ITV Group will help NewsX transcend the limitations of being a stand-alone channel and give new thrust to the channel’s editorial and commercial development, the statement added.

 

[SPANDAN]

XenSpark this all ^ the Same thing..

 

[Xen]

Read carefully dost. Your article conveys talk in progress while mine confirms the deal.