News Broadcasting
Bihar on the move as Times Now’s Election Yatra hits the road
MUMBAI: Forget bulletins from air-conditioned studios this election season, the news is on the move. As Bihar braces for a high-octane poll battle, Times Now and Times Now Navbharat is hitting the dusty roads and crowded gullies of the state with Election Yatra, a roving newsroom covering 4500 km across 28 districts to capture democracy in its rawest, most unfiltered form.
Beyond the familiar rhythm of Litti Chokha and Madhubani art, Bihar is a land forever rewriting its story restless, young, and hungry for change. With nearly 58 per cent of its people under 25 and a burgeoning MSME sector generating over 6 lakh jobs across 15 plus industries, the state is quietly shaking off stereotypes, one enterprise at a time. And now, as it heads into one of the most closely watched elections in the post-Operation Sindoor and new GST era, the spotlight burns brighter than ever.
From Patna’s bustling lanes to Begusarai’s fiery campaign grounds, Times Now and Times Now Navbharat Election Yatra promises a front-row view of Bihar’s shifting political landscape. The mobile newsroom doubles as a studio, broadcasting straight from where conversations spark the chai stalls, the chowks, and the campaign caravans.
This isn’t just another election coverage; it’s a 4500 km odyssey to decode the state’s complex identity, where nostalgia meets new narratives. Will Prashant Kishor’s experiment rewrite Bihar’s political math? Or will the familiar power blocs, the NDA and the Maha Gathbandhan hold fort once again?
Under Mandate 2025, Times Now rolls out a power-packed programming slate that goes beyond headline politics.
● National Debate, airing from 11 October every Saturday at 8 pm and Sunday at 3 pm, brings sharp minds together to dissect Bihar’s biggest issues.
● Inside, a documentary-style weekend special also launching 11 October at 11:30 am, delves deep into the forces shaping the polls.
● Access, another new format, shadows key candidates through the campaign trail, offering an unfiltered, insider’s view of life behind the loudspeakers.
Times Now Navbharat’s mobile hydraulic canter transforms into a full-fledged studio on-ground. The channel also has come up with a strategically designed lineup captures the pulse of Bihar as it heads into a historic Assembly election. Babua E Bihar Ba presently airing at 11:30 am & 7:30 pm every day, brings a travelogue-style journey across the state, interacting with locals keeping authentic linguistic charm. Further on Reporter Vs Reporter Season 2, returns to present both sides of every story: balanced, accurate, and fair, directly from Bihar’s heartland.
“Bihar has always been the hotbed of political movements, a laboratory for national experiments,” said Times Now and Times Now Navbharat group editor-in-chief Navika Kumar. “This will be the first big test for voter sentiment post Operation Sindoor and the Opposition’s vote chori campaign. With new entrants like Prashant Kishor shaking up old equations, our teams will be on the ground to track every tremor of change.”
She added that Times Now’s election coverage stands apart for its “depth, reach, and credibility”, ensuring that viewers don’t just watch the election, they understand it.
As November 13 brings the Poll of Polls and Exit Poll, Times Now’s analytical engine will decode voter moods and seat projections with surgical precision. The Counting Day special on November 14 promises minute-by-minute updates as results unfold across the state, each number a reflection of not just votes, but voices.
From Hajipur’s bylanes to Patna’s university corridors, Bihar’s democracy is as earthy as its soil and as unpredictable as its politics. Through Election Yatra, Times Now doesn’t just report the story, it travels with it, kilometre by kilometre, capturing the sounds, the sights, and the soul of India’s most fascinating electoral theatre.
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.
