News Broadcasting
Adult fare ban: guarded response from channels
MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court’s order issued yesterday restraining TV channels from telecasting adult movies or programmes without prior permission of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has been greeted cautiously by the TV industry. Some of the channels remained non-committal when queried about their next step.
AXN programming head Rohit Bhandari said the channel would continue with its present schedule since it hasn’t received the court order yet.
“We will continue with our present schedule. We are not going to take any show off as of now since the court order hasn’t reached us yet. We will plan our future moves only after having a look at the ruling. Adhering to the present guidelines we have been telecasting adult programmes in the late-night time band (11:00 pm – 6:00 pm) only,” said Bhandari.
Zee TV business head Abhijit Saxena reserved his comments saying the channel had yet to receive the order. Star TV and Sun TV officials were unavailable for comment.
The issue has come up following a ruling delivered yesterday on a PIL filed by a Mumbai resident. Chief Justice DS Bhandari and Justice DY Chandrachud has issued an order restraining channels, among which are Star TV, Sony TV, Zee TV, Udaya TV, AXN TV and Sun Network’s Surya TV, from telecasting adult movies and programmes without prior permission of the CBFC. The court has also asked the channels to file affidavits stating how many adult movies were shown during the last three months with timing details.
In the light of the ban, some of the movies Star Movies has lined up for September might raise a few eyebrows, not so much the selection as the timing. The channel is premiering The Guru on 4 September at 9 pm. On 25 September it scheduled to telecast the Jennifer Aniston starrer The Good Girl at 9 pm. The Angelina Jolie starrer Mojave Moon is scheduled for a 7:05 pm airing on 19 September. Another Jolie starrer Original Sin is slotted at 6:50 pm on 26 September.
In the late-night time band AXN has been telecasting adult shows Hot and Wild, Celebrities Uncensored and Bikini Destinations. HBO has the adult show Sex and the City for the late night viewer segment and Zee English is set to premiere Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Calendar 2000-2004 on 5 September.
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.
