This JV will in effect create a new category of local language business dailies within the India Print space, as this will be the first Hindi business paper to hit the market nationally. This venture also marks an expansion of print offerings from Network 18 into the dailies space, post the recent announcement of its magazine publishing arrangement with Forbes media and ownership control of Infomedia, India’s leading publishers in the B2B media space. This venture is also a reiteration of the Company's intent and commitment to provide its readers news and information in all genres.

The venture has been positioned to benefit from the respective competencies of TV 18 & the Company. Television Eighteen (TV18) is a recognized leader in the business media space, with a roster of brands across television, online and information terminal platforms such as CNBC-TV 18 & CNBC AWAAZ which are India's leading business channels, Moneycontrol.com which is India's No 1 financial news & information portal and Newswirel8, India's leading real time news & data platform. The Company publishes "Dainik Jagran", India’s largest read daily besides recently launched youth oriented compacts "I-Next" and "City Plus". TV 18 shall bring forth its expertise in business content to the JV, while the Company shall bring forth its print competencies including operational expertise, print and related infrastructure and distribution to the venture. Both TV18 & the Company have agreed to co-promote the offerings under the venture and exploit cross platform synergy opportunities present from both sides. It is noteworthy that 3 years ago, TV18 had launched CNBC AWAAZ, a consumer focused business channel, to cater to the needs of the Hindi business viewer. It soon emerged as a Leader in the Hindi business news segment & a major contributor to the expansion of business audiences in the country.

Mahendra Mohan Gupta, CMD, of the Company said "Our leadership in the Indian print space will further be strengthened with the launch of business dailies. This venture is based on a commonness of vision we share with TVI8 on a strong need for a high quality business print offering in Hindi and other languages. Our experience in the language media space has revealed a growing interest in specialized business news & information, which, this vehicle will enable us to cater. I am confident that we will live upto the expectations of our readers as hitherto and expand the financial market, in the geographies that are going to play a crucial role in the economic growth of the country in times to come".

Commenting on this announcement, Raghav Bahl, MD, Network18 added "The fact that "Bharat" is rapidly emerging as the key driver of the Indian economic opportunity is fairly evident. In recent years, business audiences have grown immensely in the Hindi heartland and regional markets, reflecting a democratization of enterprise & wealth creation across the nation. The leadership of CNBC AWAAZ is a strong affirmation of this new reality as well as indicative of a great need for language products across the business media spectrum. We are delighted to partner Jagran Prakashan as it will allow us to fulfill this need powerfully in the print space, by combining TV18’s strengths in business content with Jagran's intimate understanding of print markets"

The JV will be governed by a board, comprising of representatives from TV18 & the Company, which will oversee management plans and execution. The operational specifics in terms of brand name for the business daily, selection of the editorial and business team and so on is in the process of being formalized. The JV will be funded through an initial equity infusion from both sides followed by internal accruals & debt financing in the later stage.