News Broadcasting
BBC Trust begins public value test into local video proposal
MUMBAI: The BBC Trust has started its public value test (PVT) of UK pubcaster the BBC’s local video proposal. The Trust has published BBC management’s application as well as supporting documents, a service description and a full timetable for the PVT.
BBC Trustee and Chair of the Trust’s Public Value and Fair Trading Committee Diane Coyle says, “Last year the Trust challenged BBC management to respond to licence fee payers wanting better local services. We wanted a proposal that would deliver public value with minimum adverse impact on local newspapers and other commercial media services.
“We have now received the management’s application and are publishing their plans today. BBC management’s proposal for a local video broadband offer to complement existing BBC Local websites supersedes previous plans for a local television service. BBC management believes the proposition will help the BBC meet its public purposes and close the gap between the importance that audiences attach to the BBC’s local role and their view of current performance.
“The Trust is inviting all interested parties to participate in our consultation on BBC management’s proposals. We want to receive all comments – positive and negative – from the public and the industry before we consider the application in detail. This input from people outside the BBC will be essential to the Trust reaching a decision in the interest of licence fee payers. Once we reach our initial conclusions, the Trust will consult again.”
The new Charter, which came into effect in January 2007, transferred to the Trust responsibilities previously held by the Secretary of State for deciding major service-related investment proposals. The Trust must carry out a transparent and systematic process of scrutiny and evaluation before reaching its final decision.
The public value test has three main parts:
Public value assessment (PVA) by the Trust Unit
Market impact assessment (MIA) by Ofcom
The Trust’s decision
The process includes two periods of public consultation. The first four-week consultation period allows contributions from interested parties about any relevant issue. A further period of consultation takes place after the Trust publishes its provisional conclusions. The Trust is scheduled to reach its provisional conclusion in November 2008 and its final decision in February 2009. Both will be published. This PVT is expected to complete within eight months, rather than the usual six, owing to the time needed to complete the more complex market impact assessment for this service.
Ofcom is beginning its four-week consultation prior to conducting its market impact assessment of BBC management’s proposals.
News Broadcasting
CNN-News18 to air live counting day coverage for five state election results on May 4
The channel is rolling out its biggest election coverage machinery yet for results day on 4th May
NOIDA: The votes have been cast. Now comes the reckoning. CNN-News18 is pulling out all the stops for results day on 4th May, when counting begins across five battleground states — West Bengal, Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and the Union Territory of Puducherry — in what promises to be one of the most closely watched electoral verdicts in recent memory.
The channel’s coverage, titled Battle for the States: The Verdict, kicks off at 7am and runs through the day across linear TV, connected television and YouTube. It is the culmination of CNN-News18’s multi-format editorial initiative, Battle for the States, which has tracked the polls from the beginning under the theme Road to Power.
At the operational heart of the coverage will be the Live Results Hub, the channel’s central command centre built to collate, verify and process real-time data flowing in from reporters stationed at counting centres across constituencies. The hub combines newsroom intelligence, analytics and on-the-ground reporting to deliver what the channel promises will be the fastest and most accurate results coverage in English news.
Leading the on-air charge will be primetime anchors Rahul Shivshankar, Anand Narasimhan, Aman Sharma, Nabila Jamal and Shivani Gupta. They will be joined by a wide panel of commentators including author Chetan Bhagat; GVL Narasimha Rao, senior leader of the BJP; Smita Prakash, editor of ANI; activist Saira Shah Halim; political analyst Sumanth C Raman; Abhijit Iyer Mitra, senior fellow at IPCS; Amitabh Tiwari, founder of VoteVibe; columnist Abhijit Majumdar; Nalin Mehta, managing editor of MoneyControl; political analyst Tehseen Poonawalla; senior journalist Subir Bhaumik; and political analyst Manojit Mandal.
Shivshankar, who serves as editorial affairs director at CNN-News18, set out the stakes plainly. “Counting day is one of the most watched events in the electoral cycle, where speed and credibility are tested in real time,” he said. “Battle for the States: The Verdict is built on that promise, combining ground reporting, sharp analysis and cutting-edge election technology to give viewers the clearest and fastest route to the verdict. On May 4, CNN-News18 will once again be the nation’s most trusted channel to witness democracy in action.”
Smriti Mehra, chief executive of English and Business News at Network18, framed the coverage in broader terms. “Elections are defining national events, and audiences turn to brands they trust in moments that matter,” she said. “CNN-News18 has consistently led from the front in every election coverage, and this special programming reflects the scale of our ambition and editorial strength.”
The channel has form here. It claims to have been India’s most preferred English news destination for election results for the past 20 years, covering everything from the 2024 general elections to the Delhi, Maharashtra, Bihar and BMC polls on the back of what it calls an “Always First, Always Right” record. Five states, one day, and a nation waiting for answers. The clock starts at 7am on 4th May.
