News Broadcasting
Blackout in Delhi, Mumbai exposes chinks in cable industry front
NEW DELHI/MUMBAI: Even before the champagne bottles could be opened, a chasm seems to have appeared in the cable operators’ fragile unity. After meeting information and broadcasting minister Sushma Swaraj yesterday, a section of the cable trade said that 12-hour blackout of cable TV services which had been planned for today had been called off following the minister’s assurance that Cable TV (Networks) Regulation Act Amendment on CAS will pass through the Rajya Sabha (Upper House).
However, Delhi and Mumbai and several other cities across the country are currently experiencing a cable blackout starting 9 am. Representatives and franchisees of at least two MSOs staged a dharna at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, with over a 1,000 protestors joining the morcha that followed. The protestors then handed over a memorandum with their demands for quick implementation of CAS to the prime minister as well as the speaker of the Rajya Sabha, it is learnt.
Across the country, the blackout had varying success though. There was a near total blackout in the Delhi, Patna, Mumbai and Bangalore while viewers in Chennai felt a partial impact. There was however no impact of the stir in Kolkata.
Said one of the agitators in the capital, who raised pro-Swaraj and anti-broadcasters slogans: “We are not aware of any decision on calling off the stir slated for July 24. And, more importantly, yesterday’s meeting with the minister did not have proper representation of the whole cable industry.”
According to InCableNet vice chairman Ram Hingorani, Swaraj is currently meeting with opposition leaders in the Rajya Sabha to try and bring about a consensus on the issue. However, lacking any concrete assurance from their Delhi counterparts, Mumbai cable ops too have resorted to a blackout since this morning to express their solidarity.
MSOs whose services are suspended at the moment in Delhi include Hathway (Win Cable) and Siti Cable. In Mumbai, InCable has participated in the blackout, and so have other major MSOs, says Hingorani.
The division within the ranks and file of cable operators couldn’t have been more apparent. As soon as a section of the cable industry started its dharna at Jantar Mantar in Delhi, press releases went out from the National Cable & Telecom Association (NCTA) that what was happening at Jantar Mantar was unethical.
NCTA’s Vikki Choudhry yesterday on Star News had admitted too that being a responsible service provider, the cable fraternity would not blackout TV signals after the assurance from the minister.
“The cable service providers feel that propriety demands that after the assurance of I&B minister they should not black out the cable TV services when the government has given commitment to pass this Bill in the interest of the consumers. However, the ground cable TV distribution companies such as Hathway (Win Cable), who are joint venture partners of Star, and Siti Cable, which is associated with Zee Network have today gone ahead to hold demonstrations , partial blackout and to raise anti pay channel slogans,” an NCTA release said.
What does the consumer, in whose name this battle is being fought, feels about such blackouts? Nobody knows because very few have cared to get an average person’s views on this.
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.
