News Broadcasting
Animal Planet to kick off ‘Award Winning Animal Planet’ on 16 October
MUMBAI: Animal Planet celebrates its accolades with its viewers by bringing some of its best and International award winning programmes under one series, Award Winning Animal Planet. The special package will be aired every Monday at 9 pm and repeated every Tuesday at 4 pm, starting 16 October.
Over the years, Animal Planet has garnered awards globally in various International Film and Video festivals for its programming. These awards are presented, recognising the excellence in television programming, photography, writing, by some of the eminent institutions like Emmy Awards, Aurora Awards, Asian Television Awards, New York festivals and Wild Screen festival.
Animal Planet’s Award Winning Programmes include –
1. Jane Goodall’s State Of The Great Ape – 16 October 2006
Jane Goodall’s State of the Great Ape examines the situation facing the four great apes – gorillas, chimpanzees, orangutans and bonobos. Experts like Jane predict that great apes have just 20 years left in the wild unless we act to help them. State of the great ape visits the front line to reveal the lives of these people and the amazing animals they are fighting for.
Event – 2005 US International Film & Video Festival
Award – Second place for the Silver Screen Award in the Nature/Environment
category
Event – 2005 International Wildlife Festival
Award – Finalist Award and the Merit Award in the Conservation Message category
Event – 2005 Omni Intermedia Awards
Award – Silver Statue award in the Nature category
2. The Biggest Nose In Borneo – 23 October 2006
The programme follows Alastair, alpha male that has more than 20 wives. He has more than 40 offspring and since reproducing offspring is the primary goal of all proboscis monkeys, he spends the majority of his day mating. Viewers witness the drama for themselves, as well as discover how the monkeys survive in the dwindling jungles, deal with death in the family and endure terrible droughts in the The Biggest Nose in Borneo.
Event – 2005, The 15th International Wildlife Film Festival in Albert, France
Award – Best Script
3. Gorilla Gorilla – 30 October 2006
Gorilla numbers worldwide have been decimated by man’s greed and cruelty and environmental damage caused by incessant African wars, poaching and the rape of the landscape by big businesses. This programme tells the story of Damian Aspinall’s first major project to create new gorilla groups just by rescuing local orphaned African gorillas, and then by relocating young gorillas reared in England in their natural African habitat.
Event – 2005 New York Festivals
Award – Bronze Worldmedal in the Nature/Environment category
Event – 2005 Aurora Awards Film and Video competition
Award – Platinum Best of Show award in the Nature/Environment category
4. Lyndal’s Lifeline – 6 November 2006
Animal advocate Lyndal Davies travelled around the world to make a real difference for species in peril with the Animal Planet series Lyndal’s Lifeline. In the series, Lyndal presented six grass-roots rehabilitation centers with Animal Planet’s US$10,000 donation and joined the local teams as they made the crucial decision of how to use the funds.
Event – 2005 International Documentary Association Awards
Award – Finalist in the Continuing Series category
Programme – Lyndal’s Lifeline: Elephant Alert
Event – 2005 US International Film & Video Festival
Award – Third place for the Certificate in Creative Excellence in the Nature
/Environment category
Programme – Lyndal’s Lifeline: Koala Crisis
Event – 2005 Omni Intermedia Awards
Awards – Bronze Statue award in the Nature category
5. The Temple Of The Tigers – 13 November 2006
In a small, isolated monastery in northern Thailand, a handful of simple, peace-loving Buddhist monks perform their daily duties – praying, collecting alms and feeding their 10 wild Bengal tigers. The Temple of Tigers is the remarkable story of a group of 10 monks who have taken on the task of protecting the endangered animals by offering them a home within the walls of their temple.
Event – 2006 U.S. International Film and Video Festival
Award – Silver Screen Award in the Nature, Wildlife category
Event – 2006 New York Festivals
Award – Finalist Certificate in the Nature & Wildlife category as well
Event – 2005 Aurora Awards Film and Video competition
Award – Platinum Best of Show award in the Nature/Environment category
Event – 2005 Omni Intermedia Awards
Award – Gold Statue award in the Nature category
6. Tiger Zero – 23 November 2006
Tiger Zero – a special programme that reveals the root behind India’s second tiger crisis. In the early hours of 1 February 2005, the Delhi police raided a warehouse basement and discovered a huge stock of wildlife remains. The haul included two tiger skins, three kilograms of tiger claws, 14 tiger canines, 10 tiger jaw bones, 60 kilograms of tiger and leopard paws and what appeared to have been pieces of tiger clavicle bone. As the situation becomes critical, Indian tiger expert Valmik Thapar examines the case and also shares his experience about the tigers of the prestigious Ranthambore National Park.
Event – 2006 Omni Intermedia Awards
Award – Bronze statue awards also in the Nature category
Event – 2006 International Wildlife Film Festival
Award – Best Conservation Message
7. Meerkat Manor – 27 November 2006
Meerkat Manor is real-life drama with a difference – the main protagonists are 12 inches high, live underground in burrows and survive on a diet of worms, insects and lizards. Following the everyday life from family squabbles to love affairs of a unique gang of meerkats, Animal Planet presents an intimate portrait of these curious and entertaining creatures as they live their lives in Africa’s Kalahari Desert.
Event – 2006 Omni Intermedia Awards
Award – Two gold statue awards in the Nature and Cinematography / Videography /
Photography categories and also garnered a silver statue award in the Writing category
Event – 2006 New York Festivals
Award – Gold World medal in the Nature & Wildlife category
Event – 2005 Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival
Award – Finalist in the Best Animal Behavioural Program category
8. Equator: Power of an Ocean – 4 December 2006
The Equator, a.k.a latitude zero, is the line that splits the world. But it is far more than just a line on a map that divides the hemispheres; it is a line of life and a powerful force of nature. Power of an Ocean explores the sea life of the Galapagos Islands featuring the boobies as they gamble the lives of their chicks and Galapagos penguins flying through enormous schools of fish.
Event – 2006 New York Festivals
Award – Gold World medal in the Nature & Wildlife category
9. Bugging with Ruud: Amazon, Kill or Cure – 11 December 2006
Host and entomologist Ruud Kleinpaste takes Animal Planet viewers around the world to find some of the weirdest, ugliest, prettiest, and dangerous bugs. Using entertaining stunts and humorous analogies, Ruud demonstrates the amazing capabilities that many insects have, and how they translate in human terms. Ruud believes that if you understand bugs, you can learn to live with them… and maybe even love them.
Event – 2006 New York Festivals
Award – Silver medal in the Nature & Wildlife category
10. Sacred Animals of the Pharoahs – 18 December 2006
The animal kingdom of ancient Egypt was both worshipped and exploited by humans. Sacred Animals of the Pharaohs takes a fascinating look at their story, told through the eyes of the creatures that were considered sacred in Egyptian mythology, from their lives in the natural world to their slaughter at the hands of priests.
Event – 2006 Omni Intermedia Awards
Award – Bronze statue awards also in the Nature category
11. Tarantula: Australia’s King of Spiders – 25 December 2006
This program explores the secret lives of these ancient crawlers and tracks the findings of Dr. Robert Raven, arachnologist and Senior Curator of Spiders at Australia’s Queensland Museum. His unrivalled knowledge guides viewers through an extensive web of intrigue surrounding these creepy creatures. Love them or loathe them, Tarantula: Australia’s King Of Spiders sheds new light on the hairy tales of these extraordinary spiders.
Event – 2006 New York Festivals
Award -Bronze medal in the Nature & Wildlife category
News Broadcasting
GenNext takes charge as Network18 reshuffles leadership
With Avinash Kaul bowing out, Network18 hands reins to younger leaders, streamlines operations, and pushes data-driven growth across TV, digital and regional markets
MUMBAI: Network18 is redrawing its leadership map just as a long-time lieutenant bows out. Avinash Kaul, a central figure in the broadcaster’s rise since 2014, is leaving after 12 years to pursue “professional and personal goals”, triggering a broad-based reshuffle that puts a younger cohort directly under the top brass.
Kaul joined at a pivotal moment during the company’s transition and went on to scale the television business, combining strategic nous with data-led decision-making and a sharp read of the news landscape. “Avinash has been an integral part of the Network18 story,” the company said, thanking him for his leadership of the broadcast business and wishing him the best for the future.
In his wake, Network18 is betting on what it calls a “young and restless” leadership bench. “The team has taken charge and proved its mettle in quite adverse circumstances,” the note said, adding that “GenNext has seamlessly stepped in as we continue to outperform our peers.”
Operationally, the structure is being flattened. Smriti Mehra, S Shivakumar and Mitul Sangani will work directly with the top leadership, as they did in the fourth quarter. Ganesh Iyer and Abhinay Chauhan continue in their existing roles, while younger executives are being handed wider mandates across social, digital, connected TV and linear.
The reporting lines are being tightened to drive revenue and product momentum. Prabhat Chatterjee, business head–Forbes, and Arun Thapar, president–content and communication for AETN-18, will report to Smriti Mehra, alongside Mallika Nath Handa, who will lead special projects spanning new shows and non-linear properties. Jayesh Gokalgandhi, CFO for AETN-18, will report to Ramesh Damani.
Mitul Sangani will oversee expansion in Hindi and regional markets, with Sidharth Newatia, CRO–ILC, focusing on reach and revenue growth, particularly in tier-II and III markets. Pankaj Soni, head of marketing–ILC, will also report to Sangani while working functionally with Ganesh Iyer.
The group is also consolidating its branded content play. Moneycontrol’s branded content business will be folded into News18 Studio, with Don Zarrar moving to work with Shivakumar while continuing to lead existing studio and Focus teams.
International and platform growth are being bundled together. Pranav Bakshi takes on additional charge of the international business alongside connected TV and social platforms, with Naveen Mathur, who leads revenue management for the international unit, reporting to him. Bakshi continues to report to Puneet Singhvi.
On the technology and operations side, Rajesh Sharma, head of broadcast technology and IT; Rahul Singh, head of events and technical operations; and Bhupender Bhardwaj, head of IT security, will now report to Singhvi. Darshil Parekh, head of sales strategy, planning and operations, will work directly with Ramesh Damani and the top leadership, with Stanley Cyril, who manages digital sales operations, reporting to him.
Data is being pushed to the centre of decision-making. Jitamitra Mohanty, who leads research and analytics, will now work with Santosh Menon to turn audience data into “actionable insights that drive content strategy, product innovation and sustainable viewership growth”.
The message is clear: fewer layers, faster calls, sharper bets. With Kaul’s exit closing one chapter, Network18 is handing the wheel to a younger crew and doubling down on scale across screens. The race, it signals, will be run at full tilt.
