News Broadcasting
BBC’s ‘Business Bizarre’ to commence new series with Indian focus
MUMBAI: From 6 July, BBC World starts a new series of its popular programme Business Bizarre, profiling some unusual businesses in India. They run the gamut from Amul to Amar Chitra Katha. The 13-part series, sponsored by Chevrolet , can be seen every Sunday at 11 am with a repeat at 10 pm
In the first of seven new episodes, the story of the widely popular Amar Chitra Katha comics takes centrestage. The Amar Chitra Katha saga began in 1967 when Anant Pai realised that Indian children were growing up without any ties to their roots.
After knocking on several doors, Pai finally found a publisher in India Book House. Amar Chitra Katha was born with sales of less than 60,000 copies in the initial years. By the late 1970s, the comics were published in English as well as in several Indian languages, and were selling nearly 3.5 million copies annually. With plans to make interactive CDs, read-along books, stories in the audio cassette form and more, Amar Chitra Katha is now looking to explore newer avenues.
Talking about the new series, the executive producer of the programme Kadhambari Chintamani says, “Working on this series has been an exciting journey of discovery as we unravelled the success stories of some interesting business ideas. The series brings out some intriguing facts about how these ideas made it big from scratch and will surely offer viewers valuable insights.”
BBC World’s commissioning editor Narendhra Morar adds, “The enthusiasm with which the last series of Business Bizarre was received encouraged us to commission seven new episodes. These programmes too explore some fascinatingly unusual and intrinsically Indian businesses and we hope they will appeal to our discerning viewers.”
Among the other businesses to be profiled in this series are Salim Kagzi, the largest manufacturer of handmade paper from India; SEWA (Self-Employed Women’s Association), organisation of poor, self-employed women workers who earn a living through their own labour or small businesses; and The Honeybee Network, an innovative business that taps the rural ingenuity and reaches out across countries and continents to help innovators share knowledge and expertise.
Amul, the big white of the Indian Dairy Revolution, will also be featured in this series, as will Himalaya Drug Company, which has managed to combine centuries-old Ayurveda with the rigour of modern clinical research to form the world’s largest database of 500 medicinal herbs. Another episode will showcase Nalli, the market leader in silk sarees, which began as a small retail store in Chennai and has today emerged as the largest silk saree brand in the country with a turnover of over Rs 2200 million.
The legendary dabbawallas of Mumbai who recently lectured management personnel about their business structure will also feature..Business Bizarre is produced by INTV for BBC World.
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.
