News Broadcasting
BBC Worldwide signs IP VOD deal in Korea
MUMBAI: BBC Worldwide, which is UK pubcaster the BBC’s commercial consumer arm, has signed an agreement with South Korea’s largest telephone landline and broadband service providers, Hanarotelecom to supply Internet Protocol Video on Demand (IP Vod) content for its new TV portal platform, Hanaromedia.
Launching next month, the new service will allow Hanarotelecom’s pre-existing 3.6 million broadband subscribers to purchase over 120 hours of BBC children’s, drama, natural history and lifestyle programming, including titles such as Fimbles, Pride and Prejudice and Tom Jones.
For between $1-2 per month, subscribers can view their chosen BBC programme as often as they like within a 72-hour rental period. In order for video on demand and Internet traffic to be carried to a living room TV, all that’s needed is a DSL modem, a Hanarotelecom tariff and an Internet Protocol Set Top Box.
BBC Worldwide senior TV sales manager, Asia, Linfield Ng said, “New media technology is one of our most exciting and important business areas right now. The strength of the BBC’s brand and the depth of its programme portfolio put BBC Worldwide in a really strong position when it comes to leveraging this new technology and sharing our catalogue innovatively with global audiences. I’m delighted that our agreement with Hanarotelecom serves to underline that further.”
Hanarotelecom chief strategy officer Chonghoon Park says, “I am very pleased that Hanarotelecom is bringing BBC programmes to Korean audiences, allowing them to view these popular and high-quality titles at a time and in a fashion most convenient for them. We look forward to continuing to work with BBC Worldwide to deliver the best service and the best programming for our customers.”
The announcement with Hanarotelecom follows a number of other agreements which BBC Worldwide has secured to provide content for video on demand services to such international VoD providers as T-Online in Germany, Versatel in Holland, Hot Vision in Israel, Ebismedia in Italy and Telefonica in Spain.
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.
