News Broadcasting
Awaaz gets into over-drive mode, lines up five shows
MUMBAI: Consumer business news channel Awaaz, CNBC TV18’s new sibling, is going into over-drive with some new programming initiatives. The channel has lined up a total of five shows that will be unleashed in the course of this month.
Keeping in line with the basic positioning of the channel, the shows to be launched will help viewers make better decisions on investing, saving and spending wisely. Apart from that, with shows touching on genres like health and fitness and the entertainment industry; the newly launched channel also hopes to widen its viewership base, apart from being more interactive.
To begin with, the channel has lined up Glamour Bazaar (3 April at 12.30 pm) a weekly show that offers updates on the entertainment business. Segments in the show include Filmi Karobar (the business of film making in India), Filmi Chaat (Bollywood snippets) and Ek Mulaqat (a one – to – one with a Bollywood bigwig).
The second week will see the launch of two shows, Parda Faash and Tax Guru. A weekly show, Parda Faash (Saturdays 10.30 am) will track economic/corporate crime and violation of consumer rights. The show will have hard-hitting stories that will be followed by a discussion aimed at helping consumers / investors to fight back. The other show Tax Guru will have tax expert Subhas Lakhotia answering call-in queries by viewers.
Towards the end of the month, the channel will have Jiyo Zindagi, a weekly health and lifestyle show with inputs from leading experts in the medical profession and Chalti Ka Nam Gadi, a weekly guide to the world of automobiles, from buying guides to availability of after sales services available in the two, three and four wheeler industry.
Explaining the thought behind the shows, Awaaz marketing head Ajay Chacko says, “We hope to reach out to newer audiences with these shows. The aim is also to capture the women TG as well as the younger non-metro audiences with shows like Jiyo Zindagi. Then, shows like Glamour Bazaar give an inside view of the working of the entertainment industry which is definitely a value add for consumers.”
As of now, the three-month old channel broadly focuses on programs related to personal finance and markets, guidance on careers, education and consumer based programming which will help them make more intelligent choices.
Shedding further light on the channel’s programming, Awaaz editor Sanjay Pugalia says, “The aim is to address the needs of the consumer. Apart from this, the overall treatment of the shows is very interactive.”
News Broadcasting
Book Cricket gets a digital century on News18 amid T20 fever
Nostalgic classroom game revamped in English, Hindi plus Telugu on web and app.
MUMBAI: When the T20 World Cup fever hits fever pitch, News18 decides to flip the script straight back to the classroom. The digital news platform has revived the timeless schoolyard favourite Book Cricket as an interactive online game, perfectly timed to ride the cricket wave gripping fans across the globe. The reimagined Book Cricket ditches textbooks for smartphones, blending old-school nostalgia with modern gameplay. Once a sneaky recess pastime played by flicking book pages to score runs, the digital version now offers seamless fun for anyone craving a quick cricket fix between overs.
Available in English, Hindi and Telugu (with more languages planned across News18’s network), the game sits within the platform’s fast-growing gaming portfolio of over 20 titles, all built in-house. It joins event-driven hits like ‘Kursi Catcher’ and ‘Result Rewind’ during the 2025 Bihar Assembly Elections, plus festive specials such as ‘Durga’s Astras’ for Durga Puja and ‘Mouse Modak’ for Ganesh Chaturthi.
News18 Digital CEO Mitul Sangani said, “Gaming is a key pillar of our engagement strategy. At News18, we uniquely combine our newsroom agility with immersive gaming experiences. By blending credible content with interactive formats, we are creating meaningful engagement in an era defined by shrinking attention spans and evolving consumption habits.”
Select titles have expanded beyond News18.com to CNBC-TV18.com and Firstpost.com, reflecting the network’s push to deepen user interaction across platforms. The Book Cricket game is live now at https://www.news18.com/games/book-cricket/.
In a tournament where every boundary counts, News18’s digital Book Cricket proves the simplest games can still deliver the biggest smiles no syllabus required, just pure cricket joy one page-flip at a time.
