News Broadcasting
2004 MTV Asia awards nominees announced
MUMBAI: While stage is being set for the first ever MTV India music awards IMMIES, MTV Asia is gearing up for the 2004 MTV Asia Awards (MAA).
Scheduled to take place on the Valentine day, 14 February 2004, at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, the evening promising to be an unforgettable night of glitz and glamour, the event celebrates and honours the love of music and the regional and international talent that brings music artistry to life. While the company has already released a list of nominees competing for this year’s honours, the gung ho seems to be about the theme love.
In its third successive year, the pan-Asia awards ceremony has zeroed on love as its central theme. The awards next year will have the dynamic combination of both universal languages – ‘Love’ and ‘Music’, a sure-fire way to spark emotional firework, says a company release.
According to MTV Networks Asia senior vice president, creative and content, David Flack, “The MTV Asia Awards continues to be the leading platform in Asia paying tribute to the life forces in the music industry and we are excited and proud to stage this prestigious event in Singapore. With the MTV team putting its heart and soul into creating a spectacular show, we are confident that our audience will get to savour a world-class music event and our sponsors will find great value in their association with this event.”
As for the acts lined up for the evening include, Dido, one of the nominees for Favourite Female Artist category will be performing at the 2004 MTV Asia Awards.
Similar to last year, there will be a total of 19 categories for the Awards. Of those, 16 categories will be voted by viewers and fans while the remaining three awards – The Asian Film Award, The Style Award and The Inspiration Award, are honorary awards presented by MTV Asia in recognition of key industry figures and trendsetters. The inspiration award is presented to either an inspiring individual whom young adults across Asia admire or to an organization that has contributed to the betterment of Asian youth and the region as a whole.
The winners will be announced on the night of the MTV Asia Awards to a live audience of more than 7,000 spectators at the event and will broadcast to more than 150 million viewers in the region. The music channel has invited the viewers in Asia to cast their votes for their favourite artists in various categories. Five nominees for each award category will be promoted on MTV’s eight channels and online sites across the region. Viewers can cast their votes from 15 November till 15 January 2004 and winners will be chosen through an open vote across 10 countries in the region – China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand.
Supporting the event this year are HP, Toyota Motor Corporation, the official partner sponsors while Club Med comes on board as associate sponsor for the Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand markets. On a local level, McDonald’s and Mentari are local sponsors in Indonesia, Addict Mobile is a local sponsor in the Philippines and StarHub is a local sponsor in Singapore. Besides, Singapore Tourism Board (STB) will also continue to support the awards show.
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.
