Network18: Colors and the Curse of Being Number One
Raghav Bahl reveals he wished some of these channels hadn’t performed so well.
Colors, the Hindi general entertainment channel, was launched in July 2008. Shows like ‘Khatron Ke Khiladi’ hosted by Akshay Kumar, ‘Balika Vadhu’ and ‘Big Boss’ catapulted Colors to the number one slot within few months of its launch.
With channels like CNN-IBN, CNBC, IBN7, Colors and Homeshop18, Network18 had truly turned into a media empire by 2008.
But this was also the time when the recession hit the world economy. It took a heavy toll on Network18, its channels were doing extremely well but at the same time they demanded huge investments to stay number one.
In the book Network18: The Audacious Story of a Start-up, for the first time, Network18’s founder Raghav Bahl reveals that he wished some of these channels hadn’t performed so well. He could have at least shut them down to tide over the economic turmoil.
Network18: The Audacious Story of a Start-up That became a Media Empire has been published by Portfolio Penguin. Launched in September 2016 as a hardback, the paperback edition of the book is now out in bookstores and is also available online.
Cameraman: Sanjoy Deb
Video Editor: Puneet Bhatia
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