TV9 Telugu
TV9 Telugu is an Indian Telugu-language 24-hour news channel focusing on the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. It formally launched on 1 February 2004 with a 15-day trial run before the formal launch. It is headquartered in Hyderabad. Along with its rival ETV2, it is the oldest 24-hour news channel in Telugu.
The founding CEO was Ravi Prakash who served in the role till May 2019. The channel was founded with seed capital from serial entrepreneur Srini Raju's iLabs Ventures. Srini Raju exited the company in August 2018 by selling his 80% stake to a group of investors including promoters of My Home Group and Megha Engineering & Infrastructure Limited.
Rajinikanth Vellalacheruvu is the current Managing Editor of the channel.
History
TV9 was launched as a 24-hour news channel in Telugu with its headquarters in Hyderabad. It formally launched on 1 February 2004 with a 15-day trial run before the formal launch. It is promoted by Associated Broadcasting Company Pvt. Ltd. ABCL was backed by serial investor Srini Raju's iLabs Ventures with seed capital. It was reported that TV9 received 15 crore funding from Srini Raju's iLabs and Chennai-based Unify Wealth Management.The founding CEO Ravi Prakash mentioned that they launched TV9 as a news channel targeting the youth and women. By June 2014, TV9 had 125 reporters across India. The 2004 2004 [Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly election|Andhra Pradesh Assembly elections] and the Indian general elections helped TV9 and its rival ETV2 to become established in the market.
Srini Raju's iLabs and other investors held 80 percent stake in ABCL, while CEO Ravi Prakash and other management team held 20 percent stake. In September 2016, it was reported that Zee Group would likely buy a majority stake in ABCL.
TV9 Network
Over a period of time, the parent company launched news channels in other Indian languages. Its sister channels include TV9 Kannada, TV9 Marathi, TV9 Gujarati, TV9 Bharatvarsh, TV9 Bangla. After the launch of other language channels, TV9 was renamed as TV9 Telugu.| Channel | Language | Year |
| TV9 Telugu | Telugu | 2004 |
| TV9 Kannada | Kannada | 2006 |
| TV9 Gujarati | Gujarati | 2007 |
| TV9 Marathi | Marathi | 2011 |
| TV9 Bharatvarsh | Hindi | 2019 |
| TV9 Bangla | Bangla | 2021 |
| TV9 MP CG | Hindi | 2024 |
Change of ownership
In August 2018, a group of investors including promoters of ALANDA media picked up the nearly 80% stake held by Srini Raju in Associated Broadcasting Company Ltd which owns TV9 Telugu and its sister channels. From 2004 till 2018, the investor had pumped in close to 2000 crore in tranches into the company. The company was valued at 9000 crore for the transaction. It marked the exit of Srini Raju from the company.In April 2019, Srini Raju agreed to pay 650 crore to SAIF Partners, who were also the investors in the company. It was also reported that film actor Sivaji who had previously bought around 9% of ABCL from founder CEO Ravi Prakash had raised objections to the sale of 80% equity to My Home Group and Megha Engineering & Infrastructure Limited.