News Broadcasting
Murdoch gets support from Saudi prince lifting News Corp voting stake
MUMBAI: Media moghul Rupert Murdoch was given a boost in his battle to retain control over his media empire after a long-time supporter billionaire Saudi prince Alwaleed bin Talal increased his voting stake in News Corp.
Media reports indicate that Talal has bought a 5.46 per cent voting stake in News Corp after selling the three per cent non-voting stake previously held by his investment company Kingdom. News Corp is said to be looking to protect itself against a possible takeover bid from Liberty Media. John Malone’s conglomerate has already increased its stake in News Corp. to 18 per cent. This prompted Murdoch to implement a poison pill provision.
According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission the Prince beneficially owns 56.2 million News Corp. Class B common shares. The prince has said that he acquired the Class B common stock for investment and currently supports the efforts of the board and management and expects to vote his Class B shares in support of Murdoch.
In the filing the Prince has stated that he will buy more voting shares if the situation warrants it. The Murdoch family own close to 30 per cent of News Corp’s voting stock Meanwhile Murdoch has summoned his most senior executives for the second summit in seven months on News Corp’s internet strategy. The broadcasting and publishing group’s executive committee will gather this weekend near Murdoch’s ranch in California.
Murdoch spent $580 million on buying Intermix, which operates social networking site My-Space.com, and bought Scout Media, a sports website company.
News Broadcasting
Times Network to air JVC Exit Poll across 5 regions on April 29
Four-hour broadcast spans states and Puducherry with data-led analysis
MUMBAI: Times Network is set to roll out what it calls one of its most expansive election programming efforts yet, culminating in the JVC Exit Poll on 29 April, with a multi-hour broadcast spanning key poll-bound regions.
The exit poll will air across Times Now and Times Now Navbharat, beginning at 5pm and 4pm respectively. Co-powered by Vedanta and Jindal Stainless, the programming aims to combine on-ground reportage with data-driven projections across West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and Puducherry.
The network has deployed over 50 journalists across these regions, gathering voter sentiment and local insights in the run-up to polling. The effort builds on its ongoing election formats such as Election Yatra and Election Premier League, which have tracked campaign narratives and community-level issues.
In parallel, Times Now Navbharat has focused on constituency-level reporting in West Bengal through its Jan Gan ka Mann series, capturing voter opinions across diverse segments.
The coverage has also featured interviews with prominent political leaders. Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Congress leaders Ramesh Chennithala and V D Satheesan have appeared on the network’s election specials. From Tamil Nadu, voices including deputy chief minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran, BJP leader K Annamalai and NTK’s Seeman have also featured in discussions.
On the day of the exit poll, the network’s primetime anchors, including Navika Kumar, Zakka Jacob and Sumit Awasthi, will lead the coverage. They will be joined by a panel of political analysts, psephologists and senior journalists offering real-time insights and interpretation of trends.
The programming will integrate grassroots reportage with analytics from the JVC Exit Poll, aiming to give viewers an early sense of electoral outcomes ahead of the official results on 4 May.
With its combined English and Hindi broadcast reach, Times Network is positioning this effort as a comprehensive look at voter sentiment, blending field reporting, data and debate to decode what could lie ahead when the final mandate is revealed.
