Under the overarching theme ‘Sapne Honge Sach,’ CNBC-AWAAZ and CNBC BAJAR aim to analyse and decode the Union Budget 2024 to ascertain how the Modi 3.0 government will fulfil India’s aspirations, simplifying complex financial information for the general public to understand.
Speaking to Medianews4u.com Anuj Singhal, Managing Editor, CNBC-AWAAZ and CNBC BAJAR explains that the channels’ budget coverage will target the middle and lower middle class which forms the largest part of the audience. There will be a budget editors panel, a budget grand jury and experts from different fields like digital, finance analysing what the budget means to the aam janta. “Our coverage will stand out in two aspects. Firstly, our panel of experts will be the best and most trusted voice in the industry. They will talk about the budget intricacies in simplified language simplifying the jargon. Our in-house editorial panel is by far the best and the most experienced. I don’t think that the competition can boast of that.”
But he does not think that the budget will have anything for the media and entertainment sector. “Other sectors rank higher in priority. There are more important sectors for the government to focus on.”
He noted that CNBC-AWAAZ is not taking shortcuts which is easy to do but is doing things the hard way. The focus rests on doing good, solid programming both on TV and on the digital front. “The goal is to be a sustainable and credible number one. That is more important for us. On Digital, we are number one by a distance when you look at social media platforms whether it is Facebook, Youtube, Instagram, X. We are number one on TV as well, with our viewership peaking from 7 to 10 am and from 2 to 4 pm. People tune in the most during the stock market’s opening hours and closing hours.”
Expanding female viewership with tailored shows:
He said that the key TG is males 20-45. “This constitutes around 80 per cent of our viewership. Our plan is to have more women participate in the journey. For this purpose we have shows like ‘Saas Bahu Aur Sensex’. We will also have ‘Saara Sadam’ for women investors.” He noted that the channel takes on-air content and designs it for the online medium like Instagram and X. “We have had success here. We also do special programming for digital.”
He noted that people get their news more online as channels including CNBC- AWAAZ are on YouTube. “People thus increasingly watch TV when they are on the move. Our website is among the most popular, we are making moves on WhatsApp Channels. The goal is having a strong presence on that platform a year down the line. He added that the company outsources market research from houses and experts. “We are not allowed to talk about individual stocks. We have a couple of research experts but most research is outsourced from outside.”
He agrees that ethics is a big challenge in finance journalism. “There is a lot of perceived pump and dump going on in WhatsApp. Rumours are often put out on other platforms and channels. We are very careful about what kind of news is put on air. We would rather be accurate than be first. If we can do both then it is good but accuracy is more important. That is my mantra.”
Initiative to educate on stock market basics:
Besides the budget the channel has an initiative called ‘Market Gurukul’. This will focus on the basics of stock marketing investing. “This is something that is close to my heart. We do this both on TV and digital. We had done something similar with F&O and with the commodity markets. After that we plan to go to smaller cities and do shows on investment there.
