New Delhi:
NDTV matters and it is the only Indian media brand with the potential to become India’s voice to the world and the world’s window to India, the network’s CEO and Editor-in-Chief Rahul Kanwal has said.
In a wide-ranging interview with exchange4media soon after NDTV unveiled a new identity and logo, Kanwal said the network has always been digital-first, and the audience’s pivot to that arena is something that it is not only prepared for, but is also embracing wholeheartedly.
The senior journalist, who took over as NDTV’s CEO and Editor-in-Chief last year, said he saw the new role as an opportunity to rebuild the network and give it more purpose, energy and ideas.
“If a few years from now we have been able to succeed in building a new NDTV for a new India, a marquee media news organisation that many in India and abroad are proud of, I think it’s an opportunity worth taking… There are 100 reasons why NDTV might have failed. There are very few which can help it succeed. The question is, can you find the levers? Can you do what is required to be done in this age of AI, in the kind of fragmented attention spans that we are seeing, to ensure that it stays credible, it stays relevant, and it grows? That is the challenge,” he explained.
“NDTV is one of India’s most marquee media brands. And when, internationally, people think of Indian news, the one brand that comes most often to their minds is NDTV. This is as true in the United States as it is in Africa, in Europe, in Asia, and of course in India as well,” he added.
Kanwal stressed that he does not believe in left or right, or working in favour of or against someone, and wants to listen to everyone.
“My effort is to ensure that all the anchors, journalists, reporters, and producers in our team do their job well. And we hope that the public will see our honesty, our thinking, and our efforts. I am worried that sometimes people see the mainstream media as a monolith. That all the channels are the same. Or all the politicians are thieves. Or all the police officers are thieves. Or all the journalists are sold out. I think that’s wrong. If you look at it, you will find that in different shades of life, not all five fingers are the same.”
Digital First
Asked about the audience’s shift to consuming content on digital platforms, Kanwal described NDTV as the “OG of India’s digital ecosystem”.
“They have one of India’s best news apps, if not one of the world’s best news apps. Their Google domain authority is very deep, which is why when you’re looking for stories, you know, the first brand, the keyword that pops up is NDTV… This is the work that the fabulous battery of journalists, editors and producers over three decades have done. This is thanks to their effort. This is India’s digital OG. So other platforms are coming to terms with this digital reality now. NDTV was digital first, even in terms of revenue,” he explained.
“And, therefore, this is not something that scares us. NDTV is, and has been forever, digital first. It is a change we’re embracing wholeheartedly. And, ultimately, even on these digital platforms, people will go to handles or pages or channels that they connect with. When there’s so much algorithmic push, do people trust your brand? NDTV Digital has amongst the highest percentages of people coming directly to the homepage… I know that there is a lot of upheaval at this moment. Many will potentially fall by the wayside, but I am quite certain that the one brand that will be standing once the ruins are being counted will be NDTV,” he added.
Looking Towards The Future
The CEO said the network is working towards an “NDTV multiverse”, which will include things like Lifeline, which is related to health, Launchpad, which focuses on career progression and upskilling, NDTV Good Times, which is lifestyle, entertainment, films and luxury, and NDTV Automate, which is about automotive reporting.
“So we have got NDTV World. I think this is my biggest passion project. It defines the scale of our ambition. India doesn’t have a global media brand. India doesn’t have the equivalent of a CNN, or an Al Jazeera or a TRT or even a CGTN. There is only one Indian media brand that is capable of being India’s voice to the world and the world’s window to India. That is NDTV. When you travel abroad, wherever you go – Europe, Africa, the Middle East, America – they know of NDTV. And you currently have the resources, you have the wherewithal, you have the ambition and the appetite to build out India’s media window to the rest of the world. That’s what we are building on,” he emphasised.
Reflecting on his tenure and the highs and lows so far, Kanwal said, “I think the high is that NDTV matters. NDTV has mind space. It’s being spoken of. Nobody can deny the strength that they are seeing in the brand, the vitality that they are seeing in the brand, the ideas, the coverage of news, the coverage of elections, the coverage of the Budget, Davos… The fact that you’ve penetrated mind space, that people are looking at you, engaging with you, caring about what you do, that I think is most important. Everything else is building on it,” he said.
Asked about the new identity, Kanwal said, “The larger network proposition is ‘NDTV – When It Really Matters’. During an election, the Budget or a major breaking story, where do people go? The internet is filled with polished, synthetic material generated by AI, but the fact that something is well written does not make it true, meaningful or purposeful. Our hope is that, when the news really matters, audiences come to NDTV – on the app, the website, television, Instagram or any other platform. When it really matters, India should turn to NDTV. That audience behaviour, more than the declaration of a tagline, will show whether we have earned trust.”
