News Broadcasting
Cranes sofware to assist CNN-IBN on poll count
NEW DELHI: Even as voters are getting ready to cast their votes in the fifth and final phase of the Lok Sabha elections tomorrow, news television channels are gearing up to give live coverage of the results as they come in and trends that emerge on the counting day, 16 May.
Cranes Software International Limited (Cranes) will analyse the findings of opinion and exit polls as well as do the analysis of early trends for the CNN-IBN TV news channel on the counting day.
Dr Rajeeva Karandikar, Cranes Software executive vice president, a former professor at the Indian Statistical Institute, has been driving this exercise along with the team from the Analytics Group of Cranes. The team uses Cranes’ in-house statistical software product Systat and its derivatives to analyse the data.
In January and February 2009 as a run up to the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections, the Cranes Software team analysed data collected during the opinion poll commissioned by CNN-IBN. The raw data was collected by CSDS – the Center for the Study of Developing Societies under the leadership of noted psephologist Yogender Yadav, while the statistical analysis and implications of the data on the final composition of the Lok Sabha was presented by Karandikar in a TV program anchored by Rajdeep Sardesai on CNN-IBN.
The Cranes team has been involved in assimilating, analysing and preparing the raw data received from AC Nielsen for use in the graphics that go on air. The team at Cranes uses their powerful statistical analysis and graphics software – Systat, to run statistical models on early counting trends and make early seat projections of the final composition of the house. The graphics team at CNN-IBN then renders the findings into graphs which are then telecast on the CNN-IBN channel along with IBN7 (Hindi), IBN Lokmat (Marathi) and occasionally on CNBC channels.
This exercise is to take place again during the post election coverage on CNN-IBN between 13 May and 17 May.
News Broadcasting
Book Cricket gets a digital century on News18 amid T20 fever
Nostalgic classroom game revamped in English, Hindi plus Telugu on web and app.
MUMBAI: When the T20 World Cup fever hits fever pitch, News18 decides to flip the script straight back to the classroom. The digital news platform has revived the timeless schoolyard favourite Book Cricket as an interactive online game, perfectly timed to ride the cricket wave gripping fans across the globe. The reimagined Book Cricket ditches textbooks for smartphones, blending old-school nostalgia with modern gameplay. Once a sneaky recess pastime played by flicking book pages to score runs, the digital version now offers seamless fun for anyone craving a quick cricket fix between overs.
Available in English, Hindi and Telugu (with more languages planned across News18’s network), the game sits within the platform’s fast-growing gaming portfolio of over 20 titles, all built in-house. It joins event-driven hits like ‘Kursi Catcher’ and ‘Result Rewind’ during the 2025 Bihar Assembly Elections, plus festive specials such as ‘Durga’s Astras’ for Durga Puja and ‘Mouse Modak’ for Ganesh Chaturthi.
News18 Digital CEO Mitul Sangani said, “Gaming is a key pillar of our engagement strategy. At News18, we uniquely combine our newsroom agility with immersive gaming experiences. By blending credible content with interactive formats, we are creating meaningful engagement in an era defined by shrinking attention spans and evolving consumption habits.”
Select titles have expanded beyond News18.com to CNBC-TV18.com and Firstpost.com, reflecting the network’s push to deepen user interaction across platforms. The Book Cricket game is live now at https://www.news18.com/games/book-cricket/.
In a tournament where every boundary counts, News18’s digital Book Cricket proves the simplest games can still deliver the biggest smiles no syllabus required, just pure cricket joy one page-flip at a time.
