News Broadcasting
BBC, Prasar Bharati, NACO join hands to combat AIDS menace in India
A campaign to ward off the AIDS epidemic in India was flagged off on 2 July by the BBC World Service Trust, the NGO arm of the BBC World Service, in partnership with Prasar Bharati and the National AIDS Control Organisation.
Claiming that this is the world’s most intensive broadcast campaign, the BBC says that for the next 10 months, the partnership will transmit:
– A detective drama ‘Jasoos Vijay’. It will air thrice a week on regional Doordarshan stations, with an omnibus edition on DD National
– A weekly youth show called ‘Haath Se Haath Milaa’
– ‘Chat Chowk’ which will be a weekly radio phone-in
In addition to the above, social advertising spots will run three times every day on television and radio for the duration of the campaign. The USP of the project is that it uses the popular medium of entertainment to convey information and combat prejudice about AIDS, an official release informs.
The two-year project is funded by the Department for International Development, the British Government’s aid ministry, as part of their much larger commitment to combating AIDS in India. The BBC project is budgeted at 4 million (about Rs 260 million). The campaign will stress the need for protection and safe sex and will aim to increase knowledge and awareness and generate more informed opinion. At the same time, it aims at enhancing life skills in communication, negotiation and advocacy by challenging practices and stigma and discrimination.
The NACO-Prasar Bharati-BBC World Service Trust partnership will raise AIDS awareness in the low prevalence states of Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Delhi, Haryana and Rajasthan. By promoting behaviour change, including condom use, in these states, the objective is to contain the epidemic before it takes hold. In return for programming, production funds, training and workshops, Prasar Bharati has contributed producer time, in-house technical facilities and airtime to the project.
News Broadcasting
News18 India to air Sabse Bada Dangal on 4 May counting day
Channel promises fastest results, live trends and analysis across five states.
MUMBAI: Ballots will do the talking and screens will do the shouting. As counting day approaches for high-stakes Assembly elections across West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and Puducherry, News18 India is gearing up for an all-day broadcast of its flagship election show, Sabse Bada Dangal, on 4 May from 6 am onwards. The Hindi news channel plans to deliver continuous, real-time updates as votes are tallied, combining live counting data with on-ground reporting and studio analysis. With political fortunes set to shift through the day, the coverage will track every swing, surge and surprise as trends turn into results.
The broadcast will feature a mix of senior political leaders, analysts and experts, offering instant reactions and decoding the evolving electoral picture. Expect heated debates, quick takes and detailed breakdowns as the numbers settle across all five states.
For News18 India, counting day has long been a high-visibility moment. The network is banking on its reporting reach, editorial bandwidth and technology-driven coverage to stay ahead in what is often a fiercely competitive news cycle.
With multiple battlegrounds and shifting narratives, the day promises both drama and data in equal measure. And if all goes to plan, Sabse Bada Dangal will once again turn the counting of votes into prime-time spectacle.
