The board of directors of TV Today Network has approved raising the foreign investment limit in the company by foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) and foreign institutional investors (FIIs) up to 26%. The company also raised the investment limit for non-resident Indians (NRIs) by up to 24% of the paid-up capital, in a notification on the Bombay Stock Exchange.
However, this increase will be subject to the maximum permissible limit of 26% of the paid-up capital of the company, under the Portfolio Investment Scheme in accordance to FEMA regulations and approval from its shareholders and the foreign investment promotion board (FIPB).
The FIBP approval should be in accordance with the revised uplinking guidelines for news and current affairs channel by the ministry of information & broadcasting, Government of India and other applicable laws.
TV Today currently operates three Hindi general news channels including Aaj Tak, Dilli Aaj Tak and Tez in Hindi and English general news channel Headlines Today. TV Today Network also operates Oye! FM radio station in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Jodhpur, Amritsar and Patiala.
Financials
For the quarter ending March 31, 2015, TV Today’s TV broadcasting business reported revenues of Rs 110.06 crore, up 17.72% from Rs 93.49 crore revenues in the same quarter last year. On the other hand, the FM Radio broadcasting business saw revenues of Rs 3.90 crore for the quarter, down slightly from Rs 3.99 crore in the same quarter last year. TV Today reported a net profit of Rs 8.68 crore, down 45.23% from Rs 15.85 crore in the same quarter last year.
Oye FM sale
It is interesting to note that TV Today is looking to sell seven stations of its Oye FM to Entertainment Network (India) Limited (ENIL), as the company had informed in February. Subsequently, the company approached the High Court with an urgent writ petition to expedite the sale of its radio stations to Bennet, Coleman and Company Limited (BCCL) promoted ENIL in April, as its permissions from the ministry of information and broadcasting were getting delayed.
