News Broadcasting
BBC Worldwide announces new management team in Hong Kong
MUMBAI: UK pubcaster The BBC’s commercial arm BBC Worldwide has announced that following a review of its organisational structure in Hong Kong, it has appointed a new management team, reporting to managing director Asia Pacific David Vine.
Pierre Cheung has been appointed to the new role of senior business development manager. He will be responsible for new business development initiatives across the Asian region working with the television, content and production and new media divisions and the sales teams in Hong Kong. Pierre and his team will also be responsible for the TV business in China , Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Linfield Ng is the senior television sales manager and will manage the television sales team responsible for sales across Asia, excluding China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Freda Chan will continue to manage the publishing and licensing businesses.
Helen Wong is the senior finance and administration manager. She will provide business and financial support and guidance to the sales teams and operational support staff in Hong Kong and is responsible for the overall administration of the office.
Zwanenberg will return to his role in BBC World as regional director, Distribution and Business Development, responsible for the channel’s development across Asia and will continue to work from the Hong Kong office.
BBC Worldwide MD, Asia Pacific, David Vine said, “I would like to congratulate the team on their new appointments and look forward to growing our business further in this important region for BBC Worldwide. In addition, I would like to offer special thanks to acting GM Nic van Zwanenberg for his invaluable support over the past 4 months and his contribution to BBC Worldwide’s business in Asia during this period of transition.”
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.
