ET Now, the latest addition to business news channels in the country, has slipped to the bottom in the latest weekly ratings. According to data from TAM Media Research, the channel, broadcast by Times Global Broadcasting, managed just 7% marketshare in metros for the week ended 4 July, while the…

India Today Group’s fortnightly personal finance magazine Money Today will soon become monthly, according to a person familiar with the situation. This is understood to be part of a larger streamlining exercise the group is putting several of its titles through. Money Today executive editor Alam Srinivas has also stepped…

Hindustan Times is losing two senior editors. Foreign editor Amit Baruah is leaving to head BBC’s Hindi service. Baruah has been foreign editor since 2007, prior to which, he spent 19 years at The Hindu, variously as foreign correspondent at Sri Lanka, Pakistan and South East Asia, and also as…

News Corp. (NYSE: NWS) subsidiary Star India last week launched Star Player—an online video destination that currently features content from the broadcaster’s multiple channels. Star Player’s design and layout is similar to Hulu and Gurtej Sandhu, SVP for new media at Star, told contentSutra that the US-focussed video site is…

Taking advantage of policy changes late last year that allows Indian editions of foreign titles, the British magazine Spectator, owned by the publishers of The Daily Telegraph, will launch an Indian edition. The magazine is being launched here by the Anandabazar Patrika Group. The 181-year-old magazine will be the second…

Ireland’s Independent News and Media (INM), sold a 7.3% stake in Jagran Prakashan Ltd (JPL) in a series of bulk deals yesterday and today. JPL CFO R.K. Agarwal said the company has authorized INM to sell upto 22 million shares, amounting to 7% stake in the publisher of Dainik Jagran,…

As part of its continuing expansion of services focussed on the Indian market, The Wall Street Journal has hired Durga Raghunath, managing editor of Livemint.com. She will join WSJ as editor, mobile services and digital product development, India. Raghunath confirmed the development. She will report to Paul Beckett, WSJ’s India…

Rajendra Sinh, director, HR and change management at Essel Group, has resigned. Sinh joined the Subhash Chandra-promoted group in August 2007 and 15 July will be his last day at work. Essel Group is one of India’s largest diversified media conglomerates, with interests in broadcasting, distribution, direct-to-home and publishing. Group…

British media conglomerate Pearson (NYSE: PSO) Plc. today said it has invested $30 million in India’s education sector. It has formed a 50:50 joint venture with Educomp Solutions Ltd, a leading education services provider, to support vocational learning in India. Pearson will pick up a 50% stake in Educomp’s existing…

Sunil Rajshekhar, chief operating officer at Times Internet Ltd, is leaving the company, according to a person familiar with the situation. Rajshekhar will however, be around for a few months till a new CEO takes charge and will help through the transition period. Dinesh Wadhawan had stepped down as CEO…

In an immensely positive development, The Economic Times has made public the code of conduct that will govern the journalists at India’s largest business daily as well as ET Now, the business news channel that went on air yesterday. The code also includes a code of financial conduct, which specifies…

After a rather long wait, ET Now, the fourth English business news channel in India, went on air this morning as part of a phased rollout and is available on some of the major cable networks. ET Now is broadcast by Times Global Broadcasting Co. Ltd, a subsidiary of Bennett,…

Publisher Jagran Prakashan Ltd today said net profit for the quarter ended 31 March was up 40.89% year-on-year at Rs21.81 crore on stronger ad sales. Net sales was up 6.59% at Rs197.57 crore. Total income grew 5.92% to Rs201.2 crore, even though it contracted marginally from Q3’s Rs207 crore. JPL…

Thirty four-year-old Rishi Khiani, who sold his Urban Eye Media to Network18 Media and Investments Ltd in 2006, has stepped down as chief operating officer at Web18. The Internet arm of Network18 has another COO in Joyson Thomas. “Rishi has decided to move on after completing his three-year contract. He…

Network18 Media and Investments Ltd, the Raghav Bahl-promoted holding company of the Network18 group, today said it has raised Rs204.92 through a qualified institutional placement. In a statement to the Bombay Stock Exchange, the company said its board has approved the issue of 1,57,62,889 equity shares of Rs5 each at…

Bharti Airtel today said it has signed a managed services contract for its value added services with group company Comviva Technologies. The three-year deal will see Comviva managing Airtel’s 2000+ VAS nodes from various partners. Financials of the deal were not disclosed. Comviva was known as Bharti Telesoft Ltd till…

The UK’s ad-funded, youth targeted mobile service provider Blyk is bringing its model of free talk-time and texts in return for viewing advertising to India. Mint.com reports that senior level recruitment is already underway, according to an unnamed source who was approached for a job at the new operation. Blyk…

Rediff.com (NSDQ: REDF), arguably India’s first and largest horizontal portal,recently annouced its results and reported a net loss of $8.86 million in Q4 FY08-09. The company attributes the losses to the slowdown in the online advertising sector. Ajit Balakrishnan, Rediff.com’s Founder, Chairman and CEO, expects the situation in the onlineadvertising…

Essel Group company Wire & Wireless India Ltd today said its board has approved a proposal to raise Rs192 crore through a private placement of secured redeemable non-convertible debentures to institutional investors. In a release to the Bombay Stock Exchange, the company said it will issue 1920 such debentures of…