News Broadcasting
China blocks BBC transmission
China said on Friday it had removed the BBC World television news channel from its airwaves for “infringing” broadcast rules, a move the corporation said was linked to a report on the banned Falungong spiritual movement.
BBC announced from London that Chinese authorities switched off the channel’s encrypted signal through the Sinosat 1 satellite earlier this week, Agence France Presse reported.
The contentious story reportedly aired Sunday and was prepared by the BBC’s Hong Kong office. It focused on the fifth anniversary of the return of the former British colony to Chinese rule. The story included information about the Falun Gong spiritual movement, which Chinese officials call an evil cult that is a threat to order and stability.
“The transmission of BBC World has been suspended by the Chinese authorities since Monday following an item on the Falungong that appeared on the station,” a BBC World spokesperson said.
AFP quoted a spokesperson for the China International Television Corporation, the state-run body responsible for the import and export of programmes to the country, as confirming the signal had been switched off. “Yes, it’s true, the reason is that some programmes of the BBC infringed rules on the transmission of foreign programmes in China,” the spokesperson was quoted as saying.
BBC World, which is only available at upmarket hotels and a small number of foreigners’ residence compounds in China, could still be viewed in Asia via PanAmSat 2, 8 and 10, the BBC spokesperson was quoted as saying.
The corporation is reportedly in discussions with Chinese authorities in a bid to clear up the problem.
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.
