MUMBAI: The last budget presented by the NDA government marked the first budget of CNBC-TV18 as an integrated newsroom with comprehensive coverage across TV and the digital space. Over the course of an eventful Friday, CNBC-TV18’s digital avatar was successfully able to elevate and expand the platform’s reach amongst India's growing business audience.

Shereen Bhan, Managing Editor, CNBC-TV18, said, “CNBC-TV18 continued its dominance on budget day, with the biggest voices from corporate India and the markets analysing the fine print of the budget in real time. Our comprehensive coverage was complemented this year by our digital operations, which provided our audience with more options to access our content. CNBC-TV18’s effort to make the budget accessible to all was bolstered by CNBCTV18.com, which helped our readers get more from the budget."

In the build-up to the big day, in-depth and extensive pre-budget expectations were covered through an in-depth budget microsite. Subscribers, who keep themselves abreast of the latest happenings, were sent regular newsletter updates of the expectations, verdict and highlights. To help break down the budget that covered a host of diverse sectors, for the uninitiated, budget highlights were made easy to consume via video, text and infographic formats along with WhatsApp alerts through the day. These tools, on the back of effective ideation and execution, coupled with real-time analyses by industry experts, were able to effectively bridge the knowledge gap that existed between the target audience and the budget presented. 

Binoy Prabhakar, Editor, CNBCTV18.com, commented “CNBTV18.com helps readers stay on top of news and see the corners. Budget 2019, though our first since launch, was no different as we provided our audience with the news and views that matter to them. They benefited from the full power of an integrated newsroom as TV and Digital worked in tandem to provide them breaking news and in-depth analyses to connect the dots about the budget.”

Ensuring that the audiences don't miss out on a single minute of the budget, delivering updates in real-time was of paramount importance. Live coverage of the budget was achieved via real-time Twitter updates from industry experts in addition to cutting-edge analysis of the Budget in the form of videos and live blogs. Visitors were also able to stream the live television feed of CNBC-TV18 on the website to catch up with the budget on the go. 

They could access budget highlights and read about reactions from corporates, industry experts and anchors, which offered them an authentic perspective from those involved in their respective sectors. Some of the leading financial experts present as columnists on the platform included Baba Kalyani, chairman and managing director of Bharat Forge, S Naren, ED & CIO, ICICI Prudential AMC, Nilesh Shah, MD & CEO, Kotak Mutual Fund, Niranjan Hiranandani is co-Founder and MD, Hiranandani Group, Ashish Fafadia - Partner - Blume Ventures, Sunil Rohokale - Managing Director and CEO, ASK Group, Sudhakar Sethuraman - Partner, Deloitte India, Rajiv Chugh - Partner & National Leader, Policy Advisory & Speciality Services, EY India and Shishir Baijal - Chairman and Managing Director of Knight Frank India. 

Also sharing their valuable inputs as guest speakers were Anand Mahindra - Chairman of the Mahindra Group, Deepak Parekh - Chairman of HDFC, Ashok Wadhwa - Group CEO of Ambit Capital and Mark Mobius - Founding Partner of Mobius Capital Partners.

While Finance minister Piyush Goyal took centre stage as he presented the interim budget on an eventful February 1, CNBC-TV18 too came at the forefront in delivering real-time coverage of the budget via authentic offerings from experts. Having positioned itself as one of the leaders of disseminating reliable information when it comes to business, the platform gave its audiences a truly extensive coverage on a day that played a crucial role in the shaping of the country's future. 

Ranjita Sehgal, Business Head, CNBCTV18.com added “For years, CNBC-TV18 has held the reputation of the Budget Headquarters of the country. This year, for the Interim Budget 2019, we went a step further and leveraged the strength of a unified newsroom powered by television and digital providing real-time analysis and insights; making CNBC-TV18 the coveted destination for both consumers and advertisers.”