News Broadcasting
B.A.G plans to invest Rs 500 million in radio biz
MUMBAI: B.A.G Infotainment, a wholly owned subsidiary of B.A.G. Films Ltd, plans to invest over Rs 500 million for its FM radio business spread over 10 towns.
The investment includes expenses towards infrastructure, equipments and studio facilities. The company will also have to contribute to the common transmission infrastructure. “We have bid successfully at very low costs. This has given us an edge and our outgo towards license fee is just 10 per cent of our project cost,” says B.A.G Intotainment CEO Rajiv Mishra.
B.A.G is also trying to work out an equity arrangement among a consortium of small and regional radio operators who are in the process of being formed for collectively tapping advertising. “Our feeling is that there should be a common bonding for the consortium that will make it last. This will be best served by an equity arrangement among the partners. We are in talks towards this,” says Mishra.
The consortium of radio operators for ad sales is in the process of being finalised. B.A.G will lead this combination which will have a national footprint to present before advertisers. Besides pressuring on higher ad rates, the partnership arrangement can help drive down operating costs for these FM broadcasting companies.
B.A.G expects to rope in 40 radio companies as members of this consortium. The idea is to counter the bigger players like Radio Mirchi, Radio City, Sun TV group and Anil Ambani-controlled Adlabs. “We hope to form the consortium by 15 July. We have already signed up with six companies including Renecka Fincon and Gwalior Farms. We are also in advanced talks with many others,” says Mishra.
B.A.G has bagged licenses to operate stations in Shimla, Patiala, Karnal, Hissar, Ahmednagar, Jabalpur, Dhule, Jalgaon, Muzzaffarpur and Ranchi. “We expect the second phase of FM stations to be active by December. The marketing efforts should start somewhere in September-October. As for selecting radio companies who would form the consortium, we are careful that in each locality no competing operator is selected. We are selecting geographical blocks,” says Mishra.
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.
