News Broadcasting
BBC’s interactive mystery adventure for website
MUMBAI: The search for a pop star albeit a missing one goes online! This is an initiative that BBC is hoping will give its online broadband content a boost. BBC interactive Drama & Entertainment (iD&E) has commissioned Jamie Kane, an interactive mystery for teenagers
The show uses video, mobile and artificial intelligence to immerse its target audience in the world of a missing pop star. The project is scheduled to appear on bbc.co.uk early next year.
The script has been written by author, Matt Beaumont and centres on the mystery disappearance of fictional pop star, Jamie Kane played by stage actor Simon Bailey
The BBC claims that Jamie Kane is more complex than an traditional online game and more interactive than any linear drama. The catch is that only by immersing themselves in the fictional world of Jamie Kane and his fan club will players be able to solve the mystery.
Production is currently underway in London. BBC has looked to exploit the full potential of the web by squirreling away clues on fictional websites and offering artificial intelligence conversations, created by Creative Virtual, specialists in chatbot technology.
Daily updates via email and mobile phone messages, if they choose to sign up for the experience, will help users with the search for their pop idol.
By solving a number of hidden puzzles, commissioned from BIMA-award-winning online games agency, Preloaded, players receive new clues to help them in the search. Each game is designed to test a player’s powers of observation, memory and logic.
Jamie Kane combines artificial intelligence to generate messages from other ‘fans’ on the trail of the pop star, and video footage to create an authentic fan site. Ii will include mock performances and media interviews from the fictional performer, amongst them a Top of the Pops one-to-one with presenter Fearne Cotton.
News Broadcasting
Parikshit Luthra exits CNBC-TV18 after 20-year run
Former bureau chief to take brief pause before next role
NEW DELHI: Senior journalist Parikshit Luthra has signed off from CNBC-TV18, marking 28 February 2026 as his final day and closing nearly two decades with Network18 Media & Investments Limited, including eight years at the business news channel.
During his tenure, Luthra interviewed prominent business leaders and Union ministers, reporting on economic policy, corporate strategy, the automobile sector and financial markets. His coverage spanned key inflection points in India’s economic narrative.
He also led new programming formats such as Newscentre, Global Eye and Global Lens, shows that examined politics and foreign policy through an economic prism, reflecting the channel’s push towards globally linked business reporting.
In a LinkedIn post, Luthra said his final weeks were spent covering the Union Budget, the India AI Summit, India’s trade agreements with the US and EU, and the group’s flagship Rising Bharat Summit 2026. He added that he continued anchoring until his last day and briefly met Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his closing assignments.
Luthra joined CNBC-TV18 in June 2018 as assistant editor, later rising to senior editor and chief of bureau, a position he held for over two years. Before that, he worked with Republic TV and CNN-News18.
He said he plans to take a short break before embarking on his next professional chapter.
