News Broadcasting
New Skies, Intelsat forge deal to expand services in Atlantic Ocean Region
MUMBAI: New Skies Satellites N.V. (AEX, NYSE: NSK), and Intelsat Global Sales & Marketing, Ltd., two leading providers of global satellite communications services, today announced an arrangement to use their existing orbital and satellite resources at a single orbital location to expand their respective commercial service offerings to the Americas, Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
Under the terms of the agreement, New Skies will allow use of its C-band frequency rights at 340 East, where the U.S.-licensed hybrid Intelsat 603 satellite is currently providing Ku-band services. In return, each company will separately market the satellite’s C-band capacity for the delivery of video, Internet and data services throughout the Atlantic Ocean region, sharing revenues from C-band operations.
Each company may also offer “cross-strapped” services, where customer transmissions may be uplinked to the satellite in the C-band and downlinked in the Ku-band, and vice versa.
In addition, the two companies are exploring opportunities for a similar arrangement using New Skies’ NSS-513 satellite, which was replaced in the Pacific Ocean region by NSS-5 in December 2002.
The Intelsat 603 satellite began operations in July 1992 and employs 64 C-band and 24 Ku-band transponders (36 MHz equivalent). The satellite’s Global, Hemi and Zone C-band beams offer comprehensive coverage of the Americas, Europe, Africa and the Middle East. In its current inclined orbit, Intelsat 603 is expected to provide services until July 2008.
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.
