Update: Nandini Bhatnagar from NDTV has responded in the comments to this post:
Well, of course Alexa figures are quite off the rack, NDTV has about 40% audience coming from US. And both Doctor and Cooks are doing really well in the domain. These are definitely not sites for the heck of being there. We have our own panel of specialists doctors, chefs etc and these sites contribute better than channel sites in our traffic. Only quoting factual errors..each one is entitled to their opinions
Original Story: Going through NDTV.com, we noticed a few sites and sub-sites that we haven’t come across before: Among them, is a tutoring site NDTVTutor.com, powered by Tutorvista.com, which primarily targets their US based visitors. While we don’t endorse Alexa as a measure of traffic, according to Alexa, only around 8.5% of NDTV.com’s traffic comes from the US.
The movies site – NDTVMovies.com also features a new look. We also noticed a couple of other partnerships that the company has inked, though we’re not sure of how old these are – a commodities site powered by commodityonline.com, and an astrology section powered by Astroyogi.com. Interestingly, there’s also an environment site called Green.NDTV.com, sponsored by Toyota, with Dr Rajendra K Pachauri, Director General of TERI as their expert advisor. There’s an environmental anthem for you to sing along to (you may download it here)
Quick take on NDTVs strategy
All in all, NDTV has 17 websites operational, some of which feature their own content, some run by affiliates, and some that are just lying fallow. We would classify them as follows:
Channel Related Sites: NDTV.com, NDTVProfit, NDTVImagine, NDTV GoodTimes, NDTVKhabar, NDTVArabia and NDTV Active (Mobile)
Affiliate Sites: NDTVtravel, NDTVJobs, NDTV Shopping, NDTVTutor
Gets-In-The-Traffic-Sites: NDTVCricket, NDTVMovies, NDTVGadgets
We’re-Not-Sure-Why-We-Need-These-But-Lets-Try-Anyway-Sites: NDTVCooks, NDTVMusic, DoctorNDTV, NDTVBooks, NoGyan
— Much like in the case of Web18, we do feel that the company has too many properties live. This is more of a legacy issue, since many of these sites were live before NDTV Convergence was formed. The current management of NDTV Convergence has focused on developing channel related properties, re-launching some of the old properties, and also launching a site for getting in the traffic – NDTV Cricket. Niche sites like NDTV Music, NDTVCooks, DoctorNDTV, NDTVBooks and NoGyan could be integrated into NDTV.com, as sections, rather than separate websites.
— The launch of affiliate sites – for example, the one with TutorVista – appears to be more of a business call than a content call, but it’s also a means of adding utility services around NDTVs content. The company doesn’t appear to be keen on expanding their own business beyond the content domain to utility services, unlike competitors HT Media which has Shine.com (jobs) and Network18, which has sites like Bookmyshow.com for ticketing, Yatra.com for travel, Shop.in.com (formerly Storeguru) for shopping, and Jobstreet.com for jobs.
Related:
— NDTV Q2-09 Revenues At Rs. 128 Crores; NDTV Convergence FY08 Loss At Rs. 5.5 Crores
