News Broadcasting
CAS bill in limbo after walkout in RS; govt. hoping to reintroduce it next week
NEW DELHI: To reintroduce or not to reintroduce? That is the question exercising information and broadcasting minister Sushma Swaraj. Well not this week anyway. The Cable TV Networks (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2002, which was to be reintroduced in the Rajya Sabha (Upper House of Parliament) tomorrow, has again been kept back after the government’s failure to arrive at a consensus.
To add to Swaraj’s woes, agitated opposition members staged a walkout in the Rajya Sabha today charging the government with tacitly supporting the ongoing agitation by the cable fraternity in the capital, Mumbai and some other cities across the country.
The Bill, which will set in motion the rollout of conditional access systems (CAS) in the country, is now likely to go through another round of consultations between the government and the opposition parties (principally the Congress and the left wing CPM) with a possible reintroduction next week.
Rediff.com reported that several opposition members even charged the government with sponsoring the agitation by cable operators besides leaking the private discussions some of the members had with Swaraj yesterday.
Deputy prime minister LK Advani, who was present in the House, denied the government had anything to do with the cable operators’ agitation.
Leader of the opposition Manmohan Singh of the Congress said Advani’s remarks did not tally with media reports today that said Swaraj had assured cable operators that the government would get the Bill passed in the Rajya Sabha.
“This only strengthens the suspicion that the government was aiding and abetting the cable operators’ strike,” Singh said. Unconvinced by the Advani’s response, the opposition staged a walkout.
News Broadcasting
Mihir Bhatt appointed as chief content officer at News18 Studios
The media veteran brings two decades of experience across television, digital and radio to one of India’s biggest broadcast networks, Disney+ Hotstar, Discovery+
NEW DELHI: Network18 has a new strategist in the building. Mihir Bhatt, one of Indian media’s more versatile operators, has joined News18 Studios as chief content officer, stepping into a role that will see him shape content strategy, build multi-platform properties and drive brand partnerships across the network.
Bhatt brings more than two decades of experience spanning television, digital and radio, with a track record of doing something rare in Indian media: combining editorial ambition with hard commercial results. At Times Network, where he served as managing editor and chief business officer of Times Influence, he built one of the industry’s more respected content studios, launching marquee properties such as the India Economic Conclave, the Times Now Summit and Leaders of Tomorrow. He also pushed the network into premium OTT territory through tie-ups with Disney+ Hotstar and Discovery+.
His resume stretches well beyond the studio. Bhatt has led Global Investor Summits for multiple state governments, worked alongside the World Economic Forum and played a pivotal role in launching the Indian Pickleball League. Earlier, as editor of Zee Business, he pioneered investor education initiatives that are still cited as industry benchmarks.
At News18 Studios, Bhatt will report to chief executive S Shivakumar and will oversee the studios execution vertical alongside revenue verticals covering emerging markets and campaigns. Sidharth Saini, Hemanth Kumar and Nimar Sarkaria will work under him.
Rahul Joshi, managing director and editor-in-chief of Network18 Group, made the announcement in an internal communication. “Mihir’s ability to build enduring brands, foster strategic partnerships and navigate a rapidly evolving media landscape will be instrumental as we continue to strengthen our position and explore new avenues of growth in the Studios business,” Joshi said.
In a media industry lurching between disruption and reinvention, Network18 has bet on a man who has spent two decades thriving in exactly that chaos. Whether he can do it again, at greater scale, is the question worth watching.
