NDTV denies reports of takeover by SpiceJet

Sources at NDTV have denied reports of SpiceJet's Ajay Singh taking over majority holding in the news channel. A formal statement on the issue is expected by Friday evening.

It was reported that one of the oldest news channels - New Delhi Television Limited, which was founded by Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy in 1988, will change hands soon. The reports mentioned that the founders will be reduced as minority shareholders with merely 20 per cent shares, while Mr. Singh will have 40 per cent shares.

"Not even a single sentence of these reports is true," a senior NDTV official told The Hindu.

The last few months have been eventful for NDTV. On June 5, the

CBI had conducted raids at the residences of the Roys . Calling the raids a "blatant attack on the freedom of the press ", NDTV, in a statement, said that CBI had filed its FIR based on a "shoddy complaint" by a "disgruntled" former NDTV consultant who has not obtained a "single order from the courts".

Former Information and Broadcasting Minister Venkaiah Naidu had imposed a one-day ban on NDTV in November last year for its coverage of Pathankot attack. The government claimed that NDTV imperiled national security by broadcasting the sensitive details about the Pathankot air base. The ban was, however, put on hold after strong protests from the journalists’ union and the Supreme Court’s decision to hear NDTV's plea.

(This news report was first published in The Hindu)