News Broadcasting
Anigraph witnesses ‘FULL HOUSE’ on final day
It is very AK Madhavan,the genial and smiling CEO of Crest Communications spoke on ‘International CO-production in animation’.
Asking the audience, “How many of you here, want to be entrepreneur owning animation studios?” Madhavan began the session by sampling the aspirational quotient amongst India’s future animators.
“I see that I have severe competition” remarked the successful CEO, on seeing many hands arise.
Madhavan then introduced the students to the different business models on which studios work.
“There are various types of business models on which studios work. One of them is doing work for hire, purely work for hire, and why we do it is cost of production is cheaper. Traditionally studios from Europe, US and Canada send work overseas to reduce costs. The other model is CO production. It denotes you have 2 or more than 2 partners.” explained Madhavan.
Further commenting on the benefits of co-prouction and the complexities involved therein, Madhavan stated that CO-productions minimize risks, and the upside could be plenty.
Regarding complexities he stated that CO productions could have various ways in which monies were regrouped, there were several instances when deals were done for a particular platform. “Agreements” said Madhavan, ” also vary from territory to territory and geography to geography.”
Commenting on the long shelf life that animated content has and therefore the potential of perennial revenue inflows, Madhavan cited the example of Mickey Mouse, which he had seen as a child, which his children had also seen and his grandchildren would see too.
He also drew light upon the CO production treaties that existed between countries like ‘Canada and France’ , ‘Canada and Germany’ etc. where each studio that produces content in the 2 countries has to input talent from the partner country.
“Jakers is running in 17 countries across the globe, including PBS in the US, BBC in the UK, TF1 in France, and ABC in Australia” said Madhavan,talking about the high levels of appreciation and acceptance that content produced in Crest had received internationally.
He concluded by saying that “One has to build a mix, in the business model (CO-productions and work for hire) also it has to be remembered that there can be no compromise on deliveries and the quality. I think we are getting there.
This was followed by an interactive session with the audience, some of which is described below….
Madhavan’s reply on … distribution models
“So far what we have been doing is we’ve been working with different producers. India doesn’t have the skills to distribute or market content worldwide. What we do is we either go to distribution companies, obviously there is a fee for it. Also there are agents who do it.”
Madhavan’s reply on … government involvement and human talent
“I don’t think that the government is not interested. Government of India has not seen the potential yet. Industry associations are trying to get the government involved to encourage and fund projects. I am sure over the years, in the near future there will be participation.”
“All of the Indian animation studios and there are 60-70 of us, are focussing on enhancing talent, we are hiring from overseas, conducting workshops and retraining our people.”
Madhavan’s reply on … why only Tenali Ramas and Hanumans
“If you have something interesting I’ll do it for you. The real reason is something called as copyright. Public domain stories don’t cost a copyright, this cuts on costs. They also have more immediate acceptance.”
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.
