The Times Group
Bennett, Coleman and Company Limited,[3][4] (abbreviated as B.C.C.L. and d/b/a The Times Group), is an Indian media conglomerate headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra.[5] The company remains a family-owned business with Sahu Jain family owning a majority stake in The Times Group.
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Mass media |
| Founded | 4 November 1838 |
| Headquarters | Mumbai, Maharashtra, India |
Key people |
|
| Products | |
| Revenue | ₹6,210 crore (US$780 million) (2021)[1] |
| ₹−997 crore (US$−120 million) (2021)[1] | |
| Owner | Sahu Jain family |
Number of employees | 11,000 (2014)[2] |
| Subsidiaries |
|
| Website | timesofindia |
History
On 3 November 1838, the Bombay Times and Journal of Commerce was first published, a predecessor of what would become The Times of India.[6][7][8] While starting as a biweekly paper, it was converted to a daily in 1850. In 1859 the paper was merged with two other papers into the Bombay Times and Standard under editor Robert Knight.[8][9] Two years later, in 1861, the paper got a more national scope with the title The Times of India. Subsequently the paper saw its ownership change several times until 1892 when an English journalist named Thomas Jewell Bennett along with Frank Morris Coleman (who later drowned in the 1915 sinking of the SS Persia) acquired the newspaper through their new joint stock company, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. (BCCL).[8][9] At the time, some 800 people were employed by the paper.
The company, by that time consolidated in the Times of India Group, was taken over from its British owners in 1946 by industrialist Ramkrishna Dalmia.[10][11]
Ramkrishna Dalmia (7 April 1893 – 26 September 1978) was a pioneer industrialist and founder of the Dalmia-Jain group or Dalmia Group and The Times Group. The name is variously written as Ram Krishan Dalmia and Ram Kishan Dalmia. In 1947, Dalmia engineered the acquisition of the media giant Bennett, Coleman by transferring monies from a bank and an insurance company of which he was the Chairman. In 1955, this came to the attention of the socialist parliamentarian Feroze Gandhi who was part of the ruling Congress party headed by his estranged father-in-law Jawaharlal Nehru. In December 1955, he raised the matter in the Parliament, documenting extensively the various fund transfers and intermediaries through which the acquisition had been financed. The case was investigated by the Vivian Bose Commission of Inquiry.
In the court case that followed, where he was represented by the leading British attorney Sir Dingle Mackintosh Foot, he was sentenced to two years in Tihar Jail. But for most of the jail term he managed to spend in hospital. Upon his release his son-in-law Sahu Shanti Prasad Jain to whom he had entrusted running of Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. rebuffed his efforts to resume command of the company.[12]
During his time in prison the company was run by his son-in-law Sahu Shanti Prasad Jain. Jain would buy the company a few years later and the company would be primarily run by his family in the years after.[11][13] The company expanded its presence in the Indian media sphere by founding different papers and local editions of The Times of India.[9]
Decline and revival
The Times of India press published a number of influential English (e.g. Illustrated Weekly of India 1880-1993) and Hindi magazines (e.g. Dharmyug 1949-1997, Sarika, Dinaman 1965-1990s, Parag 1958-1990s), edited by distinguished authors including Khushwant Singh, Dharmveer Bharti, Agyeya and Sarveshwar Dayal Saxena. However, the organisation faced financial difficulties, and most of them were closed down during the 1990s.
The sons of Sahu Ashok Jain, Sahu Samir Jain and Vineet Jain are credited with reviving the financial success of the group with newer and more profitable ventures.[14][15]
Assets
Publications
- The Times of India, largest circulation of any English-language newspaper in the world, with 2.8 million copies.[5][16]
- The Economic Times[17]
- Navbharat Times
- Maharashtra Times
- Ei Samay
- Mumbai Mirror
- Vijaya Karnataka
Television channels
The Times Group owns the following channels.[18]
| Channel | Language | Category | SD/HD availability | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Movies Now | English | Movies | SD+HD | |
| MNX | Formerly Movies Now 2 | |||
| Romedy Now | SD | |||
| MN+ | HD | |||
| Times Now | News | SD | ||
| Times Now World | HD | Formerly Times Now HD | ||
| Mirror Now | SD | Replaced Magicbricks Now | ||
| ET Now | Business News | |||
| 1Sports | Sports | |||
| Zoom | Hindi | Music | ||
| Times Now Navbharat[19] | News | SD+HD | ||
| ET Now Swadesh[20] | Business News | SD |
Times Business Solutions Limited
| Type | Business Service & Solution |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2004 |
| 180,000,000 Canadian dollar (2016) | |
Number of employees | 11,002 (2014) |
| Parent | DKS Solution |
| Website | http://www.tbsl.in/ |
Times Business Solutions – A division of Times Internet Limited is a limited company, wholly owned by Bennett Coleman Company Limited (The Times Group). TBS develops web sites within areas such as recruitment, real estate and matrimonials such as SimplyMarry.com.[21]
TBS started as a division of BCCL in 2004 with the mission to create an exchange for job seekers and employers on the internet. With the growth of internet attaining rapid speed and being a highly profitable venture, Times Business Solutions – A division of Times Internet Limited was born as the "Internet Initiatives" of BCCL. Times Group, others put $20 million into [[Square Yards [22]]] in Sep 2019.
Times Internet
Times Internet is an Indian company which owns, operates and invests in various Internet-led products, services and technology.
Radio Mirchi
Radio Mirchi is a nationwide network of private FM radio stations in India.
See also
References
- ^ a b Saini, Sonam (21 November 2019). "BCCL's FY21 consolidated revenue at Rs 5,337.94 crore". exchange4media.com.
- ^ "Times Group may go for an IPO 'in the long run'". Business Standard. 8 November 2021. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
- ^ "Bennett Coleman & Co. Ltd.: Private Company Information". Bloomberg. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
- ^ "BENNETT COLEMAN AND COMPANY LIMITED". opencorporates.com. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
- ^ a b James Crabtree, Mumbai (23 March 2015). "Uber in tie-up with Times of India digital arm". Financial Times. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
- ^ The Bombay times and journal of commerce, 1838–1859. National Library of Australia. 1838.
- ^ "Bombay Times – Times of India ►". The Times of India. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
- ^ a b c "The Times of India". www.firstversions.com. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
- ^ a b c "3rd November 1838: The Times of India, the newspaper, was founded". www.mapsofindia.com. 3 November 2013. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
- ^ Rajan, Nalini (9 August 2005). Practising Journalism: Values, Constraints, Implications. SAGE Publications India. ISBN 9788132102618.
- ^ a b Kasbekar, Asha (2006). Pop Culture India!: Media, Arts, and Lifestyle. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9781851096367.
- ^ "History is only a by-product for Bennett, Coleman & Co". Business Today. 23 June 2011. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
- ^ Auletta, Ken (8 October 2012). "Citizens Jain". The New Yorker. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
- ^ Just in times Shamni Pande, Business Today, July 10, 2011
- ^ Citizens Jain, Why India’s newspaper industry is thriving, Ken Auletta, The New Yorker, October 1, 2012
- ^ "Details of most circulated publications for the audit period July – December 2013". Audit Bureau of Circulations. 21 May 2014. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
- ^ Hindi Desk "Economic Time Hindi".
{{cite web}}: Check|url=value (help) - ^ TimesNow. "Times – Movies and News Pack – Times Network News HD Premium Pack Price and Channel List". TimesNow. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
- ^ "Times Network to launch Hindi news channel in mid June - Exchange4media". Indian Advertising Media & Marketing News – exchange4media. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
- ^ Rajesh, Author: Srividya (20 May 2021). "Times Network To Launch Hindi Business News Channel, ET Now Swadesh". IWMBuzz. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
{{cite web}}:|first=has generic name (help) - ^ "Change your life! SimplyMarry.com". The Times of India. 9 December 2006. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
- ^ "Square Yards | Tanuj Shori | Art of Selling Real Estate - Money Matters with Shradha Sharma". YouTube.
- ^ "Lesser known facts about Rhea Chakraborty". Mumbai Mirror. 7 October 2020. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
Further reading
- Auletta, Ken (8 October 2012). "Citizens Jain – Why India's newspaper industry is thriving". The New Yorker. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
- Thakurta, Paranjoy Guha (11 November 2012). "The Times, the Jains, and BCCL". The Hoot. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
- "Gigantic List of Companies Owned by The TIMES Group". MelodyFuse. 17 September 2019. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
External links
- Official website