News Broadcasting
Sporting News names Bodenheimer most powerful in sports
MUMBAI: The list is out. ESPN/ABC Sports president is the most powerful person in sports. So says the Sporting News’ annual listing.
The president of ESPN and ABC Sports, George Bodenheimer was one of the 100 most influential people in sports.
Moving up three spots from last year’s rankings, Bodenheimer has been with ESPN for 23 years and was elevated to president in 1998. Last year’s most powerful person, New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner slipped to ninth place this year.
Bodenheimer was appointed as president of ABC last year. Under his guidance, ESPN became the first network to televise all four major team sports, says a company release.
According to Bodenheimer, “I am proud to accept this honour on behalf of everyone at ESPN and ABC Sports. The fact that The Sporting News, with its great history and tradition, has recognized the tremendous value our people create every day is a terrific way to begin the New Year.”
Close on the heels of the ESPN President is NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue, who was second on the list followed by Nike CEO Phil Knight, baseball commissioner Bud Selig and Atlantic Coast Conference commissioner John Swofford, says the release.
The rest of the top 10 include NBA commissioner David Stern, IMG co-CEO Bob Kain, Nextel senior vice president of marketing Mark Schweitzer and Nextel senior director of sports and event marketing Michael Robichaud and CEO Fox chairman David Hill.
Besides Bodenheimer, ESPN had another representative on the charts, the executive vice president programming and production Mark Shapiro, who ranked 15 on the list.
While executives are aplenty on the list, athletes on the list include Yao Ming followed by Tiger Woods, LeBron James and Serena Williams. The Cowboys’ Bill Parcells was the only coach in the list’s first 40, adds the release.
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.
