News Broadcasting
BBC Worldwide acquires travel information group Lonely Planet
MUMBAI: BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of UK pubcaster the BBC has acquired travel information group Lonely Planet in a deal that will build the Lonely Planet franchise around the world.
The privately owned business is being sold by Tony and Maureen Wheeler, who founded the company in 1972, and John Singleton who became a shareholder in 1999.
BBC Worldwide CEO John Smith said, “We are delighted to be announcing this acquisition today. Lonely Planet is a highly respected international brand and a global leader in the provision of travel information. This deal fits well with our strategy to create one of the world’s leading content businesses, to grow our portfolio of content brands online and to increase our operations in Australia and America.”
Lonely Planet, which has operations in the UK, California and Australia, is led by the CEO Judy Slatyer and her management team, who will be staying with the business. Lonely Planet’s global headquarters will remain in Melbourne.
Maureen and Tony Wheeler, joint founders, who will retain a 25 per cent shareholding in the company said, “Joining BBC Worldwide allows us to secure the long-term future of our company within a globally recognised media group. In our discussions with John and his team, we felt that BBC Worldwide would provide a platform true to our vision and values, while allowing us to take the business to the next level.”
BBC Worldwide non-executive chairman Etienne de Villiers says, “Closing this prestigious deal is a great feather in the cap for BBC Worldwide, its management and the BBC overall. It is further evidence of BBC Worldwide’s ability to become a major international media player. It is testimony to BBC Worldwide’s reputation that the Wheelers believe we are the right partner to take the business forward, given the many organisations that have approached them over the years. We are all convinced that the association will strengthen Lonely Planet’s visibility and growth potential, particularly in the digital arena, as well as providing their users access to the wide range of BBC content which connects with their interests – from Michael Palin’s New Europe to Planet Earth.”
Lonely Planet publishes around 500 titles including specialist activity guides, shoestring guides and phrasebooks. It publishes in various languages, including English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin and Spanish. The company also produces and develops factual programming for international broadcasters (Lonely Planet Television).
Its flagship TV series, Lonely Planet Six Degrees, produced for Discovery is now in its third season, and screens in over 100 countries. Meanwhile, Lonely Planet’s website receives 4.3 million unique visitors a month and Lonely Planet’s travel video site, lonelyplanet.tv, is establishing a valuable online community of independent travellers, allowing travellers to upload and watch their own video as well as view videos created by Lonely Planet.
Maureen and Tony Wheeler adds, “We will remain completely focused on the delivery of unique content to our travellers around the world. We are very optimistic about the prospects for the Lonely Planet brand under the BBC Worldwide umbrella.”
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.
