Narendra Choudary Tummala
Founder
The media in India has grown into an economic giant, with a business turnover that exceeds one percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) and matches the economic size of many individual industries in India. India's is considered the world's most dynamic media industry and one of the fastest growing anywhere. The media's worth is equivalent to half the value of India's famously successful computer software exports.
Despite massive growth in the Indian media industry, the lack of quality and diversity shows an increasing disconnect with the real lives of people in the country and the most important issues they face. However, every decade witnesses a resurgence and a new leader that comes to the fore to change the narrative; often for good.
“The core agenda of this channel is to make people understand our customs and traditions. We complement the initiative of reinforcing the value system led to introducing the massive project Koti Deepotsavam held during the Kartika Masam (December-January). The event reinforces Dharma and unity”
Narendra Reddy Tummala is a name that needs no introduction. He entered the News and media space in 2006 and since then has become a household name via his popular channels NTv and Bhakti. As both channels are set to turn 15, the founder and visionary, Mr. Narendra Choudary Tummala shares his journey in the media space and how the channels have evolved over the years.
"Before NTv was launched, News was just an eyeball game, and the sensation was its main theme. NTv wanted to change this scenario. Instead of merely entertaining people, we thought News should play a role in improving their lives. We launched our channel with a tag line - prati skhanam prajahitam (every moment, for the people). Apart from the people oriented content, we have also concentrated on speed and live content. While the existing channels were telecasting delayed content, we wanted our viewers to watch every News -live. So we started the channel with state-of-the-art technology and one dsng vehicle per district," says Mr. Narendra, which led him to start the popular news channel NTv.
A Fruitful Journey That Has Changed Lives & Perception
Staying in business and being constantly successful for 15 years is a task. When asked about the journey so far, Mr. Narendra, with a sense of accomplishment and humility, says, "Yes, these 15 years journey has been satisfactory and fruitful. We have changed the technology of News telecasting and redefined the news content. There are many firsts that NTv has brought into news channels. We have introduced election surveys in the Telugu news arena, to name a few. We started the mass debates involving thousands and tens of thousands of people on important political and social issues. We
initiated patriotic themes like with lakhs of students, who are our future citizens. This program inspired the future generation to sing our national anthem with pride. People remember NTv for its Breaking News of various important political developments which defined and redefined this part of the country. These aspects have contributed to placing the channel at the top of the rating chart."
Eccentric Growth & Recognition
From being the first channel to introducing movie audio launches live, NTv has come a long way to become the leading channel. "To be precise, we have not only topped the Telugu language channels, but NTv is also the number one channel in South India. Though being on the top makes us happy, just getting ratings has never been our criteria. We never compromised on social responsibility to get ratings. We have challenged ourselves to get to the top of the ratings without compromising quality and responsibility. We are glad that we could achieve this goal," adds Mr. Narenda about what has made NTv stay on the top. He further adds, "As I said earlier, giving live coverage of News has been our forte since the inception of our channel. When the film industry started organizing huge events to celebrate the audio launch of the movies, we thought people should get to watch this extravaganza as and when it happens.So we worked hard to get all the producers under one umbrella, through which we could live telecast all these audio launches exclusively. Thus, NTv has got another first in its crown."
A Trendsetter
As a new channel, NTv has been a trendsetter. Mr. Narendra is the mind behind the trendsetting event "Koti Deepotsavam," held every year in Hyderabad on a massive scale. When asked about the emotion behind starting such an initiative, Mr. Narendra, with a deep sense of responsibility, says, "I felt that we were getting detached from our customs and traditions. The feeling was agreeable with the youth as well. That led to the birth of the Bhakti channel, which revolves around devotional and spiritual content curated from the most popular pilgrimage centers. The core agenda of this channel is to make people understand our customs and traditions. We complement the initiative of reinforcing the value system led to introducing the massive project Koti Deepotsavam held during the Kartika Masam (December-January). The event reinforces Dharma and unity. The event has garnered a unique identity across the country. The event brings the most renowned spiritual gurus."
One Man Army
"Unlike any other management, I am a 24/7 chairman of my channel. I interact with my team every day and on every important development. Fortunately, we have a team of professionals who share my vision of News perfectly. The daily discussions and interactions have helped me mould this channel as per my vision," shares Mr. Narendra about being a hands-on chairperson.
Reaching Every Household Is The Way Forward
As the channel continues to grow with leaps and bounds, Mr. Narendra shares about the way forward, "As of now, we are concentrating on Telugu language channels. Apart from NTv, a 24 hours news channel, we also run the most successful Telugu devotional Channel, Bhakti, and the only women oriented entertainment channel, Vanitha. Technological upgradation is an ever happening process in our channel. We always strive to keep the channel technically updated. This helps us to be the fastest channel to reach the audience."
Giving credit to his audience for the channel's success, Mr. Narendra says, "Firstly, we are very thankful for the audience, who have kept immense confidence in us and placed us on the highest pedestal. We will always strive to live up to their expectations and serve them even better. We will never compromise on our standards for ourselves in news casting. We also wish to make our mark among All India News channels. We again wish to humbly express our gratitude to the Telugu people for making us the No.1 News channel in South India. Ratings or not, the interests of the public and the nation would be our priorities forever".
While the existing channels were telecasting delayed content, we wanted our viewers to watch every news-live. So we started the channel with state-of-the-art technology and one DSNG vehicle per district
Eccentric Growth & Recognition
From being the first channel to introducing movie audio launches live, NTv has come a long way to become the leading channel. "To be precise, we have not only topped the Telugu language channels, but NTv is also the number one channel in South India. Though being on the top makes us happy, just getting ratings has never been our criteria. We never compromised on social responsibility to get ratings. We have challenged ourselves to get to the top of the ratings without compromising quality and responsibility. We are glad that we could achieve this goal," adds Mr. Narenda about what has made NTv stay on the top. He further adds, "As I said earlier, giving live coverage of News has been our forte since the inception of our channel. When the film industry started organizing huge events to celebrate the audio launch of the movies, we thought people should get to watch this extravaganza as and when it happens.So we worked hard to get all the producers under one umbrella, through which we could live telecast all these audio launches exclusively. Thus, NTv has got another first in its crown."
A Trendsetter
As a new channel, NTv has been a trendsetter. Mr. Narendra is the mind behind the trendsetting event "Koti Deepotsavam," held every year in Hyderabad on a massive scale. When asked about the emotion behind starting such an initiative, Mr. Narendra, with a deep sense of responsibility, says, "I felt that we were getting detached from our customs and traditions. The feeling was agreeable with the youth as well. That led to the birth of the Bhakti channel, which revolves around devotional and spiritual content curated from the most popular pilgrimage centers. The core agenda of this channel is to make people understand our customs and traditions. We complement the initiative of reinforcing the value system led to introducing the massive project Koti Deepotsavam held during the Kartika Masam (December-January). The event reinforces Dharma and unity. The event has garnered a unique identity across the country. The event brings the most renowned spiritual gurus."
One Man Army
"Unlike any other management, I am a 24/7 chairman of my channel. I interact with my team every day and on every important development. Fortunately, we have a team of professionals who share my vision of News perfectly. The daily discussions and interactions have helped me mould this channel as per my vision," shares Mr. Narendra about being a hands-on chairperson.
Reaching Every Household Is The Way Forward
As the channel continues to grow with leaps and bounds, Mr. Narendra shares about the way forward, "As of now, we are concentrating on Telugu language channels. Apart from NTv, a 24 hours news channel, we also run the most successful Telugu devotional Channel, Bhakti, and the only women oriented entertainment channel, Vanitha. Technological upgradation is an ever happening process in our channel. We always strive to keep the channel technically updated. This helps us to be the fastest channel to reach the audience."
Giving credit to his audience for the channel's success, Mr. Narendra says, "Firstly, we are very thankful for the audience, who have kept immense confidence in us and placed us on the highest pedestal. We will always strive to live up to their expectations and serve them even better. We will never compromise on our standards for ourselves in news casting. We also wish to make our mark among All India News channels. We again wish to humbly express our gratitude to the Telugu people for making us the No.1 News channel in South India. Ratings or not, the interests of the public and the nation would be our priorities forever".
