News Broadcasting
Big TV barges into Kerala with big bucks and a baffling line-up
MUMBAI: Kerala’s news market is about to get more crowded—and considerably more confusing, according to a report in online news outlet The News Minute. Big TV, a Telugu channel owned by Pravasa Media LLP, is launching a Malayalam unit with the kind of money that has made established players sit up and sweat. The channel has been scooping up talent with salary hikes of 50-70 per cent, fat signing bonuses and perks that would make a cricket star blush. In an industry where delayed wages were once as reliable as the monsoon, this is nothing short of revolutionary.
The headline catch is Sujaya Parvathy, the combative anchor formerly with Reporter TV, who is reportedly joining as chief editor. Sujaya made waves in 2023 when 24 News briefly suspended her for attending a Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh event—the trade union wing of the Sangh Parivar—only to reinstate her after protests. She then decamped to Reporter TV, where her on-air battles with left and centrist colleagues whilst defending right-wing positions made her a hero to Kerala’s BJP-RSS set. She will become only the second woman to run a channel in Kerala (the first was Veena George, now health minister).
Joining her is Venu Balakrishnan, a veteran anchor with stints at Asianet, Manorama News, Mathrubhumi and 24 News. Lakshmi Padma, formerly with Asianet News and News Malayalam, is also said to be aboard; she recently drew attention for her reporting on sexual allegations against Congress MLA Rahul Mamkootathil. The star reporter in the pack is Joshi Kurian, a senior journalist with years at Asianet News.
If that ideological cocktail seems puzzling, the ownership is even more so. Pravasa Media LLP, according to reports, allegedly has deep Congress roots. Its managing director and chairperson, according to The News Minute, is Vijay Kanth Reddy Vennam, brother of Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee general secretary Sreekanth Reddy Vennam. Vijay Reddy also runs Winspire Campaigns Pvt Ltd, a firm that allegedly handles political campaigns and digital propaganda for chief minister Revanth Reddy and the Congress in Telangana. Industry chatter suggests the channel has also been crowdfunded by several newly minted Malayali millionaires, though this remains unconfirmed.
The timing is hardly accidental. The Congress is widely expected to do well in Kerala’s upcoming assembly elections. Whether Big TV’s peculiar mix of Congress cash and right-wing talent will pay off, or simply become the market’s most expensive identity crisis, remains to be seen. Media veterans are sceptical: in a state where even legacy players struggle to break even, the financial maths of this venture may prove as confusing as its editorial line.
News Broadcasting
Times Network to air JVC Exit Poll across 5 regions on April 29
Four-hour broadcast spans states and Puducherry with data-led analysis
MUMBAI: Times Network is set to roll out what it calls one of its most expansive election programming efforts yet, culminating in the JVC Exit Poll on 29 April, with a multi-hour broadcast spanning key poll-bound regions.
The exit poll will air across Times Now and Times Now Navbharat, beginning at 5pm and 4pm respectively. Co-powered by Vedanta and Jindal Stainless, the programming aims to combine on-ground reportage with data-driven projections across West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and Puducherry.
The network has deployed over 50 journalists across these regions, gathering voter sentiment and local insights in the run-up to polling. The effort builds on its ongoing election formats such as Election Yatra and Election Premier League, which have tracked campaign narratives and community-level issues.
In parallel, Times Now Navbharat has focused on constituency-level reporting in West Bengal through its Jan Gan ka Mann series, capturing voter opinions across diverse segments.
The coverage has also featured interviews with prominent political leaders. Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Congress leaders Ramesh Chennithala and V D Satheesan have appeared on the network’s election specials. From Tamil Nadu, voices including deputy chief minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran, BJP leader K Annamalai and NTK’s Seeman have also featured in discussions.
On the day of the exit poll, the network’s primetime anchors, including Navika Kumar, Zakka Jacob and Sumit Awasthi, will lead the coverage. They will be joined by a panel of political analysts, psephologists and senior journalists offering real-time insights and interpretation of trends.
The programming will integrate grassroots reportage with analytics from the JVC Exit Poll, aiming to give viewers an early sense of electoral outcomes ahead of the official results on 4 May.
With its combined English and Hindi broadcast reach, Times Network is positioning this effort as a comprehensive look at voter sentiment, blending field reporting, data and debate to decode what could lie ahead when the final mandate is revealed.
