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Television Eighteen, TV18 has announced its second quarter consolidated results. The company registered net profit (pre ESOP) of Rs 16.04 crore in the second quarter versus Rs 13.82 crore in the previous quarter.

CEO of Television Eighteen Group, Haresh Chawla firstly clears that Q2 results of the company are not comparable to the previous quarter because CNBC Awaaz numbers are now consolidated.

Discussing the amalgamation, Chawla says that after the record date, November 24, a TV18 shareholder will get stakes in both TV18 and in Network 18, and hence a play in the entire media company group as a whole.

Excerpts from CNBC - TV18's exclusive interview with Haresh Chawla:

Q: How much has the Internet business contributed to your numbers and what has the segmental break-up been?

A: This quarter, the results are not comparable to the previous quarter because firstly, CNBC Awaaz numbers are now consolidated. Earlier these were being reported separately; that number has been consolidated.

Therefore clearly the margins as a factor are now being calculated on a larger topline. So you are seeing a small dip in margins. But that really is an optical thing because on an absolute basis, our profits are up.

Secondly, our Internet numbers, this quarter are Rs 5.3 crore. They are up from almost Rs 1.7 crore a year ago. So they are up almost three times this year.

Q: How has Awaaz done this quarter?

A: Awaaz is doing very well and is picking up quite rapidly. We have re-branded it as CNBC Awaaz. We brought it as a part of our overall CNBC umbrella now and we continue to invest in the property.

It is currently running at a cash break-even situation because we continue to increase our investments in the product. So we are seeing increased ratings, increased audience share and increased advertisers' response there.

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