News Broadcasting
BBC’s mega plans around India Pak cricket series
MUMBAI: Come 13 March, one – the much awaited India Pak cricket series start and two – the BBC will be pulling out all stops for covering the series. BBC World Television, BBC World Service radio and domestic outlets of the BBC will be providing extensive coverage of India’s upcoming tour of Pakistan from next week.
BBC South Asia correspondent Nick Bryant is in to Pakistan to lead the coverage on BBC World together with Paul Anderson and Zaffar Abbas (Islamabad correspondents). They will be providing analysis and commentary around the matches for BBC World Service English output and other language services and will be joined by expert commentators from both India and Pakistan.
On BBC World Service, BBC Bengali examines the history of the India-Pakistan cricket relationship in a six-part series presented by Uday Das. Reporter Hasan Masood will keep listeners up to date with all the happenings at this very special event with reports from the matches, exclusive interviews with key players and feedback from the cricket fans.
BBC Hindi will bring the full action of the Indo-Pak Cricket on air and online. In the first of a six-part series, presenter Nagendar Sharma interviews former Indian captain, Bishan Singh Bedi. A two member team led by Delhi-based Rehan Fazal will file reports from inside the stadium throughout the tournament. At a special Talking Point with Nagendar Sharma at the helm, the listeners will discuss the matches, their favourite teams – or just get a point off their chest.
The services online site, www.bbchindi.com has dedicated a page to the Indo-Pak Cricket where visitors can respond to the question of the week and put across their views. There will be match by match analyses from former cricket players, a comprehensive archive of facts and figures on all the previous Indo-Pak games, player profiles, and a constantly updated picture gallery.
On the other hand, BBC Urdu has pulled on board Imran Khan and Hanif Mohammed to bring the Indo-Pak games to its audience. The former Pakistani cricket captains will comment throughout the series before and after the matches. Visitors to www.bbcurdu.com can also read their comments and analysis online as well as follow a special column by former Pakistan batsman and captain, Zaheer Abbas. The present Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul Haq will feature in a Talking Point where audiences can put questions to him both on air and online.
In the run-up to the forthcoming cricket season, BBC World’s popular weekly chat show Face to Face is featuring some of the best young Indian cricketers. The programme, which can be seen every Saturday night at 10 pm, will give viewers an insight into the lives of some of the best up-and-coming performers such as Mohammad Kaif and Yuvraj Singh, who talk about their success and ambitions.
Starting 14 March, BBC World will be airing Close Encounters, a series of short vignettes with Indian and Pakistani cricketers. The mini-interviews, with cricketers such as Javagal Srinath, Sanjay Manjrekar, Javed Miandad and Aamir Sohail, focus on dramatic past encounters between the two
In addition BBC Worlds regular sports programme, Sport Today will feature roundups and score updates in all bulletins while matches are in progress.
The bbcnews.com/southasia site will also be sending in its online correspondent, Ayanjit Sen, to cover the series for its award-winning site. The BBCi sport website will have analysis and reports from India’s tour of Pakistan with expert opinion from players past and present.
“India’s tour of Pakistan is one of the most eagerly anticipated sporting events of the past decade,” said BBC Radio Sport head Gordon Turnbull. “So it is very exciting that BBC Radio can use its networks to give it the coverage it deserves.”
With BBC Radio’s exclusive UK rights to the series, Radio Five Live will be providing regular updates and reports including a three hour special live report from the first one day match at Karachi. BBC Asian Network will also have live commentary of the opening one-day international between the arch rivals. The three Test matches will be broadcast live on Five Live Sports Extra, with extensive reports on the Asian Network and Five Live with the remaining four one-day internationals being reported on both stations.
News Broadcasting
CNN-News18 to host Kolkata Town Hall on Hooghly River
‘Bhalobasa Bengal Inspiring Bharat’ event on April 20 brings cultural icons, trailblazing women and leaders aboard a cruise to celebrate Bengal’s enduring influence.
MUMBAI: Bengal is about to make fresh waves on the Hooghly and this time the current is pure conversation. CNN-News18 is taking its iconic Town Hall format to the waters of the iconic Hooghly River on 20 April 2026 with a special edition titled ‘Bhalobasa Bengal – Inspiring Bharat’. The floating event will celebrate the state’s rich cultural legacy and how its ideas, creativity and spirit continue to shape the rest of the country.
The unique riverside setting draws on Bengal’s history as a cradle of reform, art and intellectual thought. The speaker line-up mirrors that diversity: cultural heavyweights Mithun Chakraborty and Sreenanda Shankar will share the stage with trailblazing “Devis” such as Tanya Sanyal (India’s first woman firefighter in aviation), Ipsita Chakraborty (Kolkata’s first woman bartender) and Reshma Nilofer Visalakshi (Nari Shakti awardee and marine pilot). Music will flow through the celebrated pianist-vocalist duo Sourendro and Soumyojit, while public life and governance will be represented by Smriti Irani, Leander Paes, Saira Shah Halim, Keya Ghosh, Rekha Patra, Roopa Ganguly and Babul Supriyo.
CNN-News18, editorial affairs director, Rahul Shivshankar, said the event honours voices that carry Bengal’s legacy forward. Smriti Mehra, CEO – English & Business News, Network18, added that Bengal’s stories resonate far beyond its borders, especially as the state heads into polls.
From the first woman to battle flames in the skies to legendary actors who shaped Indian cinema, the gathering promises a rich mix of inspiration, courage and candid dialogue. In a city where culture has always flowed as freely as the river itself, CNN-News18 is turning the Hooghly into a floating forum for ideas that matter.
Tune in on 20 April on CNN-News18, CTV and YouTube to catch Bengal’s heartbeat in full flow.
