News Broadcasting
Nat Geo strengthens prime hour programming
MUMBAI: National Geographic is beefing up its prime hour of nine pm – Nat Geo Max – with specials targeted at the thinking viewer.
The Space Week that commences today, will start with Destination Space that will give viewers an insider’s view of the next space race – as astronauts, scientists and entrepreneurs share their vision of the future. Similar one hour specials are lined up for the rest of the week – Solar Blast on Tuesday, Asteroids – Deadly Impact on Wednesday, Cold & Space and Star Wounds on Thursday and Cosmic Fireball on Friday.
Says Nat Geo senior VP, content and communication Dilshad Master: “Nat Geo Max is our prime hour wherein we give high value high-interest, award winning shows to our viewers. Being a Prime time slot, each show is a great example in both entertainment and information. This is a something which few channels can claim to have.”
Nat Geo Max, the channel’s prime hour programming block that started in April this year, plays the best of the channel’s programming where all programmes playing on the slot are are thematically linked.
The Space Week (29 July – 2 Aug) will be followed by the Violent Earth Week (5 Aug – 9 Aug) which will showcase the best of programming that NGC has to offer in the field of natural disasters, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and desert storms, says Master.
News Broadcasting
Rajesh Sundaram joins NDTV Profit as senior editor, assignment
The 32-year newsroom veteran has launched channels on three continents and covered everything from 9/11 to South African television
MUMBAI: NDTV Profit has bolstered its newsroom with a hire who has done rather more than most. Rajesh Sundaram, a journalist with over three decades of editorial, managerial and consultative experience across India and international markets, joins as senior editor, assignment, tasked with sharpening the network’s newsgathering and real-time response.
Sundaram’s career reads like a tour of Indian media’s most formative moments. He began at Businessworld in 1994, moved to Zee News as bureau chief across Mumbai and Chennai, then joined NDTV in 2002 as part of its political bureau during a particularly febrile period in Indian politics. A stint as India correspondent for Al Jazeera International followed, where he covered key geopolitical developments and got his first serious taste of the global newsroom.
What sets Sundaram apart, however, is his serial channel-launching habit. At NewsX, he helped get the operation off the ground. At Headlines Today, part of the India Today Group, he served as editor. At News Nation, he helped launch the Hindi news channel and its digital ecosystem. He then crossed continents to lead the launch of ANN7 in South Africa as editor-in-chief, overseeing both television and digital. Back in India, he launched Tamil news channels News7 Tamil and Cauvery News, and later served as principal consultant for the launch of Marathi channel Lokshahi. Most recently, he helped build and lead the Press Trust of India’s video service and content studio, before stints consulting for Business Today and The Himalayan Times.
Rahul Kanwal, chief executive and editor-in-chief of NDTV, left little doubt about what Sundaram is expected to deliver. “The assignment desk is where a newsroom’s intent becomes action,” he said. “Rajesh brings a rare combination of field experience and leadership in building news operations at scale.”
Sundaram has reported from across India and the world, covering elections, civil conflicts, the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks and the 2008 US presidential election.
At NDTV Profit, he will lead the assignment desk, driving editorial coordination and real-time response across markets and breaking developments. For a business news network sharpening its focus on speed and multi-platform delivery, it has hired a man who has built newsrooms from scratch on three continents. The assignment desk is in good hands.
