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AyRojgar

Online news portal

Running a news website. Registration with the Ministry of Information is compulsory at Tk 10,000, renewed yearly at Tk 5,000, and there is still no fixed government advertisement rate for online portals.

  • Last reviewed: 21 September 2026
  • Version 1
Online news portal

Online news portal

Starting capital
৳50,000 – ৳5,00,000
Editorial estimate
Manpower
2 – 15 people
First sale
30 – 365 days
Official source
Break-even
6 – 36 months
Editorial estimate
Kind of work
Online · Hard

About the business

Opening a news website and publishing every day. In Bangladesh this cannot be done at will. Under the National Online Media Policy 2017 (revised 2020), registering an online news portal is compulsory, and until a commission is formed the registration work is done by the Department of Information. The registration fee is Tk 10,000 and the annual renewal fee is Tk 5,000. Paying within a month of the deadline adds a Tk 2,000 surcharge, and beyond a month Tk 5,000. Money goes in by treasury challan, with economic code 14222212 for registration, 14223335 for renewal and 14224065 for the surcharge. Once approval comes, registration must be completed within 20 working days. The Department of Information's lists, last updated 27 January 2026, carry about 284 registered independent online news portals, about 134 online editions of daily newspapers, about 61 regional papers' portals and 18 television channels' portals. The income side is brutal. Real money for a small portal is government advertising, but government advertisement rates are set by the Department of Films and Publications against a printed newspaper's audited circulation: a minimum of Tk 350 per column inch for a Dhaka daily, rising to Tk 900 where circulation passes 141,000. No approved rate of that kind exists for an online portal. In February 2024 the State Minister for Information said a policy was needed to fix government advertisement rates for online newspapers and news portals. Until then a portal lives on thin display advertising and its owner's pocket.

Unit economics

ItemRangeEvidenceSuggest a correction
Monthly working capital৳50,000 – ৳3,00,000Editorial estimate
Selling price৳350 – ৳900 / unitEditorial estimate
Variable cost৳400 – ৳1,250 / unitEditorial estimate
Gross margin0% – 56%Editorial estimate
Time to first revenue30 – 365 daysOfficial source
Break-even time6 – 36 monthsEditorial estimate
Cash cycle15 – 180 daysEditorial estimate
Waste / loss5% – 20%Editorial estimate
Daily capacity20 – 150Editorial estimate

What you need to start

  • A domain and hosting, a content management system, at least two computers, a camera or a phone with a good one, and uninterrupted internet with a power backup. Prices could not be verified here.Equipment
  • Online news portal registration with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting under the National Online Media Policy 2017 (revised 2020). Registration fee Tk 10,000 (economic code 14222212), annual renewal Tk 5,000 (code 14223335), late surcharge Tk 2,000 within a month or Tk 5,000 beyond it (code 14224065). Registration must be completed within 20 working days of approval. Until a commission is formed the Department of Information carries out the registration.Licence
  • Trade licence from the city corporation, municipality or union parishad: application form Tk 50, licence fee Tk 200-26,000 by business type, Tk 230-1,500 in a union parishad. Valid one financial year, renewed annually, issued in 3 working days.Licence
  • Media enlistment with the Department of Films and Publications, which is what qualifies an outlet for government and semi-government advertising. The enlistment fee, conditions and timeline for online portals could not be verified here, and DFP does not publish its government advertisement rate list on its website either.Licence
  • The habit of verifying: who said it, where, and whether there is a document. A wrong item online survives in screenshots even after it is deleted, and it puts the registration at risk.Skill
  • Local correspondents and advertising agencies. A district portal's own news comes from upazila correspondents, and advertisement bills come through an agency.Supplier

How the work is done

  1. 1Decide what kind of portal it is: national news, district news, or a single subject such as agriculture, sport or health. It goes on the registration application and is not easy to change later.
  2. 2Settle the domain and the clearance of the name first. Check the Department of Information's published lists for a portal already registered under the same or a close name.
  3. 3Take the trade licence: form Tk 50, licence fee Tk 200-26,000 by business type, issued in 3 working days. Take the TIN too, because a government advertisement bill cannot be raised without one.
  4. 4Apply to the Ministry of Information to register the portal. It is compulsory under the National Online Media Policy 2017 (revised 2020), and the Department of Information handles the registration.
  5. 5Once the application is approved, pay by treasury challan: registration fee Tk 10,000 under code 14222212. Registration must be completed within 20 working days of the date on the approval letter.
  6. 6Pay the Tk 5,000 annual renewal on time under code 14223335. Late payment costs a Tk 2,000 surcharge within a month and Tk 5,000 beyond it, under code 14224065.
  7. 7Take hosting and a domain that will not fall over when traffic suddenly rises. A site that goes down on the day of a big story wastes the whole month's work.
  8. 8Keep at least two people who can write and edit. A one-person portal runs for a few months and then either the news thins out or the mistakes multiply.
  9. 9Go after local advertisers: shops, hospitals, coaching centres, property firms. Waiting for government advertising will not carry you through the first year.
  10. 10Apply for media enlistment at the Department of Films and Publications. Enlistment is what makes government and semi-government advertising possible, but there is still no approved rate for online portals, so get in writing what rate a bill will be paid at before you run the advertisement.
  11. 11Record the date, the writer's name and the source of every item published. When a complaint comes that record is the only defence, and it is useful at renewal too.
  12. 12Keep more than one source of income: local advertising, ad networks, sponsored items. A portal standing only on government advertising closes the moment a bill is held up.

Seasons

  1. JanNormal
  2. FebNormal
  3. MarNormal
  4. AprNormal
  5. MayNormal
  6. JunHigh
  7. JulLow
  8. AugLow
  9. SepNormal
  10. OctNormal
  11. NovNormal
  12. DecHigh
HighNormalLow

Where it works well

  • Strong fitChattogram · The port, customs and industrial belt generate news the Dhaka portals cannot cover, and there are more local advertisers.
  • Strong fitDhaka · The Ministry of Information, the Department of Information and DFP are here, the advertising agencies are here too, and getting a bill cleared is done in person.
  • Strong fitSylhet · Migrant readers follow district news from abroad, which lifts what ad networks pay.
  • PossibleBogura · The commercial centre of the north, where local traders and coaching centres do advertise.
  • PossibleCox's Bazar · Tourism, the Rohingya camps and development projects draw readers from home and abroad, though local advertisers are few.
  • PossibleCumilla · A populous district with highway and border news and a notable readership among migrant families.
  • PossibleKhulna · A divisional headquarters with Sundarbans and shrimp-sector news, though the advertising market is small next to Dhaka's.
  • PossibleMymensingh · A new division with new government offices, so an enlisted outlet has a chance at their advertising.
  • PossibleRajshahi · University and farming news has its own readership, and as a divisional headquarters there is a chance at government office advertising.
  • PossibleRangpur · A divisional headquarters with readers for farming and seasonal hardship stories, though advertising income is thin.

Risks and cautions

  • HighCompliance: Running an online news portal without registration falls outside the policy. Even registered, Tk 5,000 must be paid every year, and late payment brings a Tk 2,000 surcharge within a month and Tk 5,000 after it, meaning the penalty for delay equals the renewal fee itself. Miss the 20-working-day window after approval and the whole process stalls.
  • HighDemand: Government advertisement rates are fixed against a printed paper's circulation, and no approved rate exists for online portals; in February 2024 the State Minister for Information himself said a policy was needed. So what a small portal can bill is negotiated every time, and in a negotiation the small side loses.
  • HighLate payment: The advertisement runs today, the bill is cleared much later, and the money comes later still through the agency. Meanwhile writers' pay, hosting and internet go out every month. No published timeline for payment could be found, and that uncertainty is the danger.
  • MediumDependency: Readers arrive from Facebook and search. One rule change on a platform halves the audience overnight, and the display income with it. That risk stays until people start coming to the portal by its own name.
  • MediumOther: The crowding. The Department of Information's lists of 27-01-2026 carry about 284 independent registered portals plus about 134 dailies' online editions, about 61 regional ones and 18 television portals, close to 500 in all. The same pool of government advertising is split among them, and a new portal stands at the end of the queue.

Sources

What changed

No corrections have been published yet.

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