News Broadcasting
BT announces deals for next gen TV with BBC Worldwide, Paramount, Warner
MUMBAI: British Telecom (BT) has announced deals with three entertainment companies, BBC Worldwide, Paramount and Warner Music Group.
The agreements bring the launch of BT’s TV over broadband service an important step closer. Starting next year, BT says that its service will combine access to digital terrestrial channels, an extensive video on demand library and a range of interactive services.
BT Retail CEO Ian Livingston said, A partnership between the country’s leading communications company and three of the worlds leading entertainment groups is great news for consumers in the UK. I am delighted that BBC Worldwide, Paramount and Warner Group share our vision. Our customers will be able to enjoy enhanced TV services and easy access to a wealth of interactive content and new services straight to their TV. Whether you are a music fan, love films or hooked on drama you will get the best in entertainment when you want it. BT is defining next generation TV .
BT’s next generation TV service will include entertainment on demand a library of movies, TV and music all available instantly; catch-up TV programmes from the previous seven days broadcast schedule will be available on demand without the need to record; flexible payment no mandatory subscriptions; pay-per-view options; a personal video recorder capable of storing up to 80 hours of programming; more than 30 digital terrestrial TV channels; communication services such as instant messaging, chat and video telephony on TV and interactive services such as online games, retail opportunities and community services.
BT further says that it the only company in the UK committed to providing such a service across the country. BBC Worldwide CEO John Smith, said, With video on demand rapidly shaping the future of television, we are very pleased to be part of BTs TV service from the outset, providing subscribers with blue chip programmes and high quality viewing.
Warner Music UK chairman Nick Philips says, “We are pleased to partner with BT as the first music provider to this innovative distribution service. Industry leading agreements and unique partnerships like the one we announce today are an important component of Warner Music’s global strategy to become a multifaceted, music content company.
The agreement with Paramount provides BT with Paramount’s blockbuster films in the pay-per-view window as well as an extensive range or older and classic films from the Paramount movie archive, all on demand.
The announcement follows BT recent agreements with Phillips to supply the set top box which will deliver the high definition services and an alliance with Microsoft. This will provide Microsoft TV IPTV Edition as the software platform.
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.
