News Broadcasting
BBCW’s University Challenge road shows in Delhi 25-29 August
NEW DELHI: BBC World’s University Challenge road show will visit prominent colleges in Delhi this week after an enthusiastic response from college students in Kolkata, Bangalore and Mumbai.
Billed as a “spectacular” quiz show, BBC’s University Challenge quiz show – based on the UK’s most popular and one of the longest running quiz show formats in the world – comes to India in search of the best talent from the country’s top universities and colleges.
Hosted by India’s favourite quizmaster Siddhartha Basu, the programme premiered on BBC World on 7 August 2003 and is telecast every Thursday at 10 pm, with a repeat on Sundays at 10 am.
A press release says that BBC World has charted a 360-degree marketing approach to promote University Challenge with a mix of marketing tools such as radio promotions and contests; online promotion on Yahoo.com; print advertisements; SMS, on-ground and outdoor campaign. The show producers claim to have received a tremendous response through the SMS and online contests.
As a part of the on-ground initiatives, between 25 August and 29 August, the University Challenge road show will visit several colleges in Delhi such as St. Stephen’s College, The Hindu College, Sri Ram College of Commerce, Lady Sri Ram College, Jesus and Mary College amongst others. The other prominent colleges that will be visited as part of the road shows are: Hansraj College, Kirorimal College, Miranda House, Sri Venketaswara College and Daulat Ram College.
The release says that the road shows feature lots of questions and instant prizes; and a special contest where two lucky winners out of all the winners of the road shows get an opportunity to interact with Siddhartha Basu over dinner.
Sponsored by Samsung Sound, the University Challenge quiz covers the gamut of sports, theatre, technology, industries, film, music, dance, science and medicine, television, advertising, art and literature, destinations, cuisine and many other areas.
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.
