NDTV 24x7

About NDTV 24x7

NDTV 24x7 is an English-language 24-hour news channel operated by New Delhi Television Limited (NDTV), based in New Delhi. Launched on April 14, 2003, alongside its Hindi sister channel NDTV India, it was India's first 24-hour English news channel from an independent Indian broadcaster, and for its first three years it dominated the English news genre. Known for a sober, reportage-driven style and for anchors such as Barkha Dutt, Rajdeep Sardesai, and Vikram Chandra, the channel set benchmarks for English television journalism in India. Since late 2022, NDTV has been controlled by the Adani Group through AMG Media Networks, following the group's takeover from founders Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy.

History

NDTV 24x7's lineage begins with NDTV's work as a production company. Founded in 1988 by Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy, NDTV produced "The World This Week" for Doordarshan and, from 1998 to 2003, produced all programming for Star News, India's first 24-hour news channel. When the Star arrangement ended, NDTV launched its own channels — NDTV 24x7 in English and NDTV India in Hindi — on April 14, 2003, becoming an independent broadcaster after receiving uplinking permission from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

The channel was an instant success: for three years it dominated the English news market, with Headlines Today (now India Today) a distant second, and it monetised the premium urban audience that advertisers in banking, telecom, and automobiles coveted. In December 2005, Rajdeep Sardesai, one of NDTV's star anchors, crossed over to launch the rival CNN-IBN, and in January 2006 Times Now entered the genre under Arnab Goswami, intensifying competition. NDTV listed on the stock exchanges on May 19, 2004, launched the business channel NDTV Profit in January 2005, and in 2007 launched NDTV MetroNation, billed as India's first English city channel for Delhi and the National Capital Region.

Ownership and the Adani Takeover

NDTV was controlled for most of its history by founders Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy through RRPR Holding. In August 2022, the Adani Group's AMG Media Networks, a subsidiary of Adani Enterprises, acquired Vishvapradhan Commercial Private Limited, which had lent the Roys' holding company about Rs 403.85 crore in 2009 with warrants convertible into equity. Exercising those warrants gave the Adani Group 29.18 percent of NDTV on August 23, 2022; an open offer added about 8 percent, and in December 2022 the Roys sold a further 27.26 percent, taking the group's stake to 64.71 percent.

The takeover, widely described as hostile, ended the founders' 34-year control of India's pioneering private news network. Senior journalists departed in its wake, and the group installed new leadership, with Rahul Kanwal becoming CEO and editor-in-chief in May 2025. Under Adani ownership, NDTV has expanded into regional-language channels and launched NDTV World, an international offering, while pursuing an AI-led growth strategy.

Programming and Flagship Shows

NDTV 24x7's programming has been built around prime-time current-affairs shows, long-format interviews, and ground reporting. Its best-known programmes over the years include "We The People", Barkha Dutt's long-running talk show; "The Buck Stops Here"; and a range of election specials, budget-day broadcasts, and documentaries. The channel's coverage of the 2002 Gujarat riots, the 2004 tsunami, and the 2008 Mumbai attacks set standards for Indian television news.

The channel's style has emphasised field reporting, extended interviews, and town-hall formats over the shouting-match debates that came to dominate rival channels. Its election programming, featuring psephologists and on-ground reporters, has been a consistent appointment-viewing event for English news audiences.

Editorial Identity

NDTV 24x7 cultivated a reputation as the thinking viewer's English news channel, with a liberal editorial outlook and an emphasis on credible, understated journalism. Its anchors were among the most recognised faces in Indian broadcast journalism, and the channel's town-hall and interview formats gave it a distinctive identity in the genre.

This positioning made it both influential and controversial: it was admired by urban liberals and criticised by supporters of the ruling establishment, who accused it of bias. The 2022 change of ownership intensified debate about its editorial direction, with the departures of senior journalists widely interpreted as a watershed for independent broadcast journalism in India.

Reach and Viewership

NDTV 24x7 broadcasts across India on cable and direct-to-home platforms and internationally via satellite and streaming. In its first three years it was the undisputed leader of the English news genre; after 2006 it faced intense competition from CNN-IBN (later CNN-News18), Times Now, Headlines Today, and from 2017, Republic TV, which expanded the genre's viewership substantially.

The channel's audience has been disproportionately urban, affluent, and influential — the premium demographic that made English news attractive to advertisers despite its smaller absolute numbers compared to Hindi news. Its digital streams on ndtv.com extend its reach to online viewers in India and the diaspora, and in 2012 its channels were launched in Malaysia.

Sister Channels and Network

NDTV 24x7 is part of a network that includes NDTV India, the Hindi news channel; NDTV Profit, the business news channel; and regional-language news channels launched from 2023 onward. The group also launched NDTV World as its international offering. Historically, the network operated NDTV Good Times (lifestyle) and held interests in general entertainment through NDTV Imagine, which was later sold.

The group's digital arm, NDTV Convergence, manages ndtv.com — launched in 1999 as one of India's first news websites with live webcasts — along with mobile applications and social media properties. The network's technology arm, NDTV Labs, developed media software for captive use, and a joint venture with Genpact handled media post-production outsourcing.

Digital and Online Presence

NDTV's digital presence is among the oldest and largest in Indian news. The ndtv.com portal, launched in 1999, offers live television streaming, video-on-demand, and text news, and it reportedly recorded 13 billion hits in a single day in 2014. The group's channels maintain large followings on YouTube, Facebook, and X, and its mobile applications deliver live news and personalised alerts.

NDTV Convergence was established to exploit synergies between television, internet, and mobile, and the group has continued to invest in digital video, podcasts, and short-form content. Its early adoption of internet news gave it a lasting advantage in online audiences.

Awards and Recognition

NDTV 24x7 and its journalists have won numerous national and international awards. The network was named India's most trusted television media brand in industry surveys in 2016, and its programmes have been honoured at the Indian Television Academy Awards and international festivals. Barkha Dutt's reporting and the channel's coverage of major events drew particular acclaim.

The channel's documentary and election coverage received international recognition, and its early years set the template for English news presentation in India. These honours underpinned the brand's reputation for credibility across two decades of broadcast journalism.

Technology and Production

NDTV 24x7 broadcasts in high definition from the network's studios in New Delhi, with a fully digital newsroom integrating television and online production. The company was a technology pioneer among Indian broadcasters, adopting computer-based newsroom systems in the 1990s, and it has used augmented-reality graphics, drone footage, and mobile journalism extensively.

The network's infrastructure includes satellite uplink facilities and bureaus across India and in key international locations, supporting live coverage of elections, parliamentary sessions, and breaking news. Its studios have hosted landmark interviews with prime ministers, presidents, and global leaders.

Headquarters and Operations

NDTV 24x7 is headquartered in New Delhi, where the network's main newsroom, studios, and corporate offices are located. The company maintains bureaus in state capitals and major cities across India, and its correspondents cover beats from politics and business to science, environment, and culture. The channel is carried on all major Indian cable and DTH platforms and is available internationally via satellite and streaming, serving English news audiences in India and the global diaspora.