News Broadcasting
Nickelodeon’s Nicktoons to present international cartoon film fest
MUMBAI: Nickelodeon’s US-based digital channel Nicktoons will present the Nicktoons Film Festival in association with Federator Studios and Animation Magazine. The first on-air festival of its kind will showcase the diversity of independent cartoon filmmaking by animators from around the globe.
Announcing the film festival, Nicktoons VP & GM Keith Dawkins said, “There’s so much great talent in the world of animation and we’re excited to give people the opportunity to have their work seen by experts and on Nicktoons’ air. Nicktoons is the place to be for animation lovers, which is why we’re forming a sort of ‘creative lab’ for a new generation of cartoon hits.”
Animators from around the world can download entry forms on www.nicktoons.com starting today and entries will be accepted through 10 September. Submissions should be animated shorts no longer than sevenminutes that combine a unique look, great character designs and a funny plot. A selection of shorts chosen by a pre-selection jury will broadcast on Nick US’s digital channel, Nicktoons, as part of a 13-episode compilation series launching this fall. One winner will be chosen by a grand jury and awarded a $10,000 prize, informed an official release.
The pre-selection jury will be an assembly of Frederator Studios and Animation Magazine staff. The grand jury members will be announced on the website throughout the Festival competition. Other festival prizes will also be announced on the website throughout the competition, added the release.
Animation Magazine, based in New York, is a leading trade publication devoted to the coverage of the business, technology and art of animation while the New York-based Frederator makes cartoons for television and the movies.
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.
