Arnab Goswami quits Times Network, likely to start independent news venture

Goswami told the editorial team that he believed in the media and would continue in the television business.

Arnab Goswami,  president-news and editor-in-chief of the Times Now and ET Now television channels, is leaving the Times Network, reveal sources. The speculation is that he might start an independent news venture, TV or digital.

Arnab Goneswami: How Twitter reacted to his exit from Times Now

Goswami started his career with The Telegraph, where he worked between 1994 and 1995, before joining Prannoy Roy’s New Delhi Television (NDTV) as a reporter and anchor. He rose there to a news editor, helming the Newshour show from 1998 to 2003. Later, he became senior editor at NDTV and continued working in that capacity till he left to join Times Now in 2006.

There, he rose to fame with his aggressive anchoring on the Newshour, which went a long way in pushing the channel to the number one position it continues to hold till date. According the Broadcast Audience Research Council-India, Times Now is the top-rated English news channel in the country by a massive margin.

The Goswami-led channel clocked 632,000 impressions in the week from October 15 to 21; closest competitor CNN News18 clocked 289,000 impressions in the same week. Impressions refers to the total number of views a show gets during its telecast.

This leadership position is reflected in advertising sales. On an average, English news channels enjoy a peak ad rate (for a 10-second spot) of around Rs 3,000 during normal weekdays (prime time). Sector estimates peg Times Now’s prime time ad rate at around Rs 20,000. This could increase in an important development or during elections. The show went a long way in making Times Now a money churning asset within the Times network, contributing 70 per cent of the channel’s total ad revenue.

Goswami was elevated to president-news & editor-in-chief, Times Now and ET Now, from editorial director and editor-in-chief, Times Now, in June 2015.