NewsX changes third hand; sold to promoters of India News

First launched by Peter Mukherjea in 2008 and then sold to Vinay Chhajlani and Jehangir Pocha in 2009, the English news channel has found third owner in 4 years

BestMediaInfo Bureau | Delhi | July 17, 2012

English news channel NewsX, which was launched by Peter Mukherjea's INX News in March 2008 and subsequently sold to Indi-Media Network jointly promoted by Nai Dunia CEO Vinay Chhajlani and former Businessworld Editor Jehangir Pocha in January 2009, has found its third owner in 4 years of its operations.

The ITV Group that operates Hindi news channel India News and six regional news channels in northern and central India, has acquired control of INX News Pvt. Ltd. which owns and operates NewsX.

NewsX has been the last in the league of English news channels according to TAM ratings. The channel was slated to be renamed as IMN News in September 2010 with a new packaging and look, but this was postponed for unstated reasons.

Speaking on the occasion Kartikeya Sharma, Managing Director, ITV said, “This is a logical market expansion for us and enables us to enter the English news domain while strengthening our presence in the broadcast and digital media space.  NewsX has emerged as a quality news provider with great growth potential and making it part of our group's network of seven regional news channels will bolster news gathering abilities and create multiple synergies all around.”

In 2009, Vinay Chhajlani and Jehangir S. Pocha had joined hands to run NewsX.  In a joint statement Chhajlani and Pocha said, “We are happy to hand over the channel to the ITV Group and acknowledge the contribution of the team that has earned NewsX much recognition.  Being part of the ITV Group will help NewsX transcend the limitations of being a stand-alone channel and give new thrust to the channel's editorial and commercial development.”

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