News Broadcasting
India TV returns to NBA fold after three-month estrangement
NEW DELHI: India TV has returned to the News Broadcasters Association after three months of estrangement over the decision of the NBA Authority taking suo motu action on the telecast of a report relating to an interview by a Pakistani researcher to Reuters after the terrorist attacks in Mumbai on 26 November last year.
Following the channel’s return to the NBA, its founder-chairman Rajat Sharma will rejoin as a member of the NBA Board. The channel’s managing editor Vinod Kapri, who had tendered his resignation, returns as a member of the NBA Authority.
It is understood that though the channel was forced to pay a penalty of Rs 100,000 and run an apology scroll, India TV which had quit NBA on 19 April decided to sink differences after some members of the NBA Board – themselves broadcasters – were sympathetic and admitted the guidelines of the Board had not been followed.
NBA sources told indiantelevision.com that any viewer can complain to the respective TV channel directly about any report. The matter goes to the NBA Authority headed by Justice JS Verma only after the channel has not been able to satisfy the complainant within one week.
India TV had run a late night report in Hindi about an interview given in English to Reuters by Barhana Ali who is a researcher with the American CIA about the terrorist attack. Ali had subsequently complained to the channel that the interview had been in English to Reuters and not to the channel, and that she had been erroneously described as a CIA spy.
The channel had subsequently run a story clarifying the points made by Ali, and she was satisfied. The NBA Board had been duly informed and decided to treat the matter as closed.
However, the 9-member NBA Authority – set up by the NBA Board – decided suo motu to take up the case and is understood to have taken a decision against the channel in a hearing which reportedly did not have the quorum as required under the guidelines.
India TV is understood to have taken the decision to return in the larger interest of unity among news channels.
News Broadcasting
Times Network to air JVC Exit Poll across 5 regions on April 29
Four-hour broadcast spans states and Puducherry with data-led analysis
MUMBAI: Times Network is set to roll out what it calls one of its most expansive election programming efforts yet, culminating in the JVC Exit Poll on 29 April, with a multi-hour broadcast spanning key poll-bound regions.
The exit poll will air across Times Now and Times Now Navbharat, beginning at 5pm and 4pm respectively. Co-powered by Vedanta and Jindal Stainless, the programming aims to combine on-ground reportage with data-driven projections across West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and Puducherry.
The network has deployed over 50 journalists across these regions, gathering voter sentiment and local insights in the run-up to polling. The effort builds on its ongoing election formats such as Election Yatra and Election Premier League, which have tracked campaign narratives and community-level issues.
In parallel, Times Now Navbharat has focused on constituency-level reporting in West Bengal through its Jan Gan ka Mann series, capturing voter opinions across diverse segments.
The coverage has also featured interviews with prominent political leaders. Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Congress leaders Ramesh Chennithala and V D Satheesan have appeared on the network’s election specials. From Tamil Nadu, voices including deputy chief minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran, BJP leader K Annamalai and NTK’s Seeman have also featured in discussions.
On the day of the exit poll, the network’s primetime anchors, including Navika Kumar, Zakka Jacob and Sumit Awasthi, will lead the coverage. They will be joined by a panel of political analysts, psephologists and senior journalists offering real-time insights and interpretation of trends.
The programming will integrate grassroots reportage with analytics from the JVC Exit Poll, aiming to give viewers an early sense of electoral outcomes ahead of the official results on 4 May.
With its combined English and Hindi broadcast reach, Times Network is positioning this effort as a comprehensive look at voter sentiment, blending field reporting, data and debate to decode what could lie ahead when the final mandate is revealed.
