Value in media stocks lies in consolidation

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Editor's note: Over the past two weeks, since Gautam Adani made a bid to acquire news broadcaster NDTV, media stocks have registered an uptick in their valuations. Stocks of print media firm HT Media as well as regional newspaper owners DB Corp. and Jagran Prakashan went up 5-15%, while those of media company TV Today Network—which owns leading Hindi-language news channel Aaj Tak—rose 14%. Meanwhile, NDTV’s stock jumped 30%.  Before the world’s third-richest man announced his intention to gain control of a 29% stake in NDTV, he also bought a stake in Quint Digital Media’s business news arm, Quintillion Business Media. Moreover, he has hinted that the Adani group is committed to becoming a serious player in the media business. Perhaps investors are sensing a likely consolidation of businesses, which is driving up the demand for news media stocks.  Come to think of it, if Adani chooses to build a news media empire now, the timing couldn’t be better. The entire bunch of listed media companies in the news space is worth only about $1.2 billion (around Rs 9,600 crore), which includes …