Mumbai: Network18, India’s most diversified media conglomerate that hosts the country’s largest television news network and leading digital properties, moved to a newly created facility at Shriram Mills Compound in Worli, Mumbai. The new facility is built on floor size spread over one lakh square feet and contains the largest newsroom in the country that can seat more than 400 people along with nine uniquely designed studios. The facility has NOC for comprehensive monitoring of traffic and performance and provides tools to the teams to appraise and analyze the approach towards stories besides keeping eye on data and content security potential threats.
Avinash Kaul, CEO- Broadcast, Network18 commented on the occasion, “The way media space has evolved, it is prudent that the entire value chain of digital and broadcast businesses operate with oneness in approach and practice and hence we have re-modelled ourselves and designed an Integrated Digital Newsroom of global standards, which is first of its kind in the industry. The new facility helps the network channels also to enhance their presentation value by use of creative graphics, large video walls and capability of going live with rich and relevant AR-VR effects for the viewers.
The facility is integrated with all network newsrooms and studios in the country on same technology backbone, thereby facilitating content share and synergy across all digital products and broadcast channels. Nine different studios are driven by state-of-the-art technology and the set design has been conceptualized by designers of international acclaim.
Avinash added, “With the growing might of Network18, the move to a fresh new facility brings immense cheer and motivation to our team. We have worked hard to create the country’s largest integrated newsroom fueling the country’s largest news network, where teams from our leading news brands, both broadcast and digital, like CNBC-TV18, CNBC Awaaz, CNN News18, News18 India, News18 Regional, Moneycontrol and Firstpost will work together from a common physical space which will bring about a confluence of ideas and innovation, backed by shared operations prowess.”
Rajat Nigam, Group Chief Technology Officer, Network18 explained, "Keeping the focus on integrated operations, the new facility has the physical layouts, technology design and the content workflow aligned to each other rendering enhanced efficiency and productivity. The newsroom floor is equipped and designed to provide multiple outputs simultaneously on linear channels, digital products and social media with ease and synergy. The hybrid SDI-IP design allows inter-operability amongst all Production controls and Studios with ease imparting flexibility in operations. The new facility is designed objectively catering to the operational legacy, current requirements and modularity to adapt future. The facility is strongly equipped to create live content, rich feature stories and speedy VODs for news and sporting events, gratifying the consumers. And we are excited as this facility is designed and executed completely by our in-house tech team."
The inauguration of the studio saw participation heads of the exchanges – Vikram Limaye of NSE and Ashishkumar Chauhan of BSE, icons of corporate India like Rajesh Gopinathan of TCS, Rajnish Kumar of SBI, Amitabh Chaudhry of Axis Bank, V Vaidyanathan of IDFC First Bank, PS Jayakumar of Bank of Baroda and market veterans Ramesh Damani, Ashok Wadhwa, Nirmal Jain, Navneet Munot among others.
