News Broadcasting
Nicktoons Network to offer animated TV content on iTunes
MUMBAI: US broadcaster Nickelodeons aninmation network Nicktoons Network has launched a new line-up of content on the iTunes Store
Programming on offer includes Skyland, the new animated adventure series, which will be available on iTunes prior to its network debut on Saturday, November 18 at 9:00 p.m. (ET), and short-form content from The Nicktoons Network Animation Festival, the world’s only multiplatform animation festival which showcases the diversity of independent cartoon filmmaking by animators from around the globe.
Four episodes of Nicktoons Network’s upcoming animated adventure series, Skyland are being offered on iTunes for $1.99 each. iTunes will offer a free sneak-peek (available for four weeks) of the premiere episode. 28 compilations of approximately 180 short films from The Nicktoons Network Animation Festival will be available for purchase at launch which includes 13 compilations from the 2004 Animation Festival, eight from 2005, and seven from 2006.
Nicktoons Network VP, GM Keith Dawkins says, “The launch of Nicktoons Network on iTunes will allow our viewers the chance to watch many of our hit shows whenever they want and wherever they are. We strive to provide our audiences with the opportunity to connect with our content in many different ways, and this launch is another step in Nicktoons Network multiplatform programming strategy.”
For $1.99 per episode, consumers can download Nicktoons Network series from the iTunes(R) Store and view them on their iPods or computers. Skyland follows a heroic brother, Mahad, and his telekinetic younger sister, Lena, as they search for their parents in a new world order.
The year is 2251 and the Earth has been shattered into millions of blocks that now drift aimlessly in orbit around the Earth’s core known as Skyland. The Sphere, led by a power-mad ruler with telekinetic powers named Oslo, has installed a dictatorship that controls water distribution, now a precious resource. Skyland’s young heroes along
with the pirate resistance, try to free their mother from Oslo’s evil grasp and destroy the dreaded Sphere. Skyland Nick says uses the latest in animation techniques and technology such as motion-capture and CGI, to create a unique rich visual style and stunning imagery usually reserved for filmmaking.
— The Nicktoons Network Animation Festival, which celebrated its third year this summer, showcases the diversity of independent cartoon filmmaking by animators from around the globe. Animators were asked to submit animated shorts no longer than 10 minutes in length that combined a unique look, great character designs and overall appeal and originality.
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.
