He's back with a bang - Arnab Goswami announces his new venture, 'Republic'

Amidst all the shock surrounding his exit from the channel that he made famous, and the one that made him so, too; amidst the speculation about what his next strike on the industry would be; and amidst absolutely eager anticipation - Arnab Goswami, made the unofficial announcement that he is starting an independent venture, titled "Republic."

Speaking to a few media outlets like The News Minute, The Quint, Arnab confirmed the name, nature, and a few other details about his independent news venture. He said that it is a work-in-progress and he is aiming to get it off the ground before the upcoming, crucial Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.

Arnab told The Quint, "My venture is called ‘Republic’; I seek the support of the people of India.”

November 1, 2016, saw Arnab quit from all the executive positions he held at the popular news channel Times Now and its sister company ET Now, namely Editor-in-Chief and President (News) of Times Now and ET Now. He thus ended a much famed, much maimed decade-long stint at the news channel, where his daily prime-time debate show ‘The News Hour’ would rake in over 60 percent of their total revenues. After his stints at Telegraph Kolkata, where he first started, NDTV, and Times Now, he will finally become the face of something he has created.

In his farewell speeches to employees at Times Now that quickly went viral, he had even teased that he is far from done with journalism and news, and has been planning his incursion into independent media. “Independent media is going to thrive. The game has just begun,” were his words. He had also added that he hopes to give “formidable competition to BBC and CNN.”

He has said that his PR agency will make a formal announcement about the venture in a few weeks. As of now, sources close to him have revealed that the venture will primarily be based out of Mumbai, as reported by The News Minute. The article also states that a media owner based out of Bengaluru, a major TV distribution network, and an influential advertising and media buying group form part of the team of investors that will be backing Arnab big comeback.

As for Times Now, journalist Rahul Shivsankar, then editor of News X channel, was roped in by them to take Arnab's chair.