News Broadcasting
CNBC’s ‘Trial by Fire’ debuts on 21 February
MUMBAI: It’s trial by fire alright. What else would you call a quiz show from India’s leading business channel, where the top B-school students are as participants and top corporate leaders are the judges.
Launching on Saturday, 21 February 2004, Trial By Fire to be aired every Saturday-Sunday at 10.30 pm is a unique B-school quiz show touted to be intelligent yet exciting, unique and engaging.
An 11 part series, Trial By Fire aims at bridging the gap between management theory and practice and familiarize students with the challenges that managers face everyday.
The bi-weekly aim, is a set of eight quarterfinals, four semifinals and the grand finals. They will capture the excitement and emotion of the contestants as they battle their way to the top, says an official release. With this show the channels aims to give a peep in the minds of B-school students.
The show format that focuses on EQ than on IQ, aims to display how prepared management students are for the pressures of work life through an incisive quiz show format. The success in the contest will depend more on handling perceptions and pressures, than on number crunching and data analysis, says the release.
Presented by Van Heusen in association with LG and Metlife India, the quiz will test risk-taking ability, comfort in ambiguity, understanding of situations, managing perceptions, empathy, and speed of decision-making. According to the release the key features of the show is the interaction between the participants and some of the most well known industry leaders.
Hosted by quizmaster and television personality Derek O’Brien, the contest has over 1500 students from 250 B-school across the country participated in a comprehensive online test (www.cnbctrialbyfire.com) to qualify.
Only 16 teams of two members each, qualified for the quarterfinals. Each episode features three respected industry leaders who would be evaluating and scoring the teams.
Every episode will feature four innovative rounds that test the ability of the contestants to handle ethical or socially challenging situations, understand body language and nonverbal cues, take quick and accurate decisions and evaluate their knowledge of corporate and business affairs, adds the release.
While episode one will see teams from IIM, Bangalore (AMITY Business School, Gurgaon IIM Lahore,) and IMI, Delhi judged by ING Vysya, VP and marketting head Gautam Sharma, DHL marketing head Ramesh Natrajan and Zee TV president Sunil Khanna, episode two will have teams from IIT, Madras, NMIMS, Mumbai, SP JAIN, Mumbai, and FMS, Delhi judged by BPL Innovision Business Group, Business Development exeutive VP Krishna Angara, Sahara India Parivar executive director Parvez Damania and Sun Microsystems Country head marketing K P Unnikrishnan.
According to CNBC-TV18 sales and marketing VP B Saikumar, “Trial By Fire provides management students with a platform to display their managerial capabilities to corporate leaders of India Inc. The show further extends CNBC-TV18’s reach into the management school community and is a logical successor to the Lessons In Excellence Case Contest, which was a resounding success with management students. Trial By Fire will provide captivating viewing for business leaders, management students, and audiences from every part of the spectrum. This is yet another initiative in our continuing efforts to add diverse, incisive programming to our portfolio and give our discerning viewers a wide variety of intelligent and engaging shows on the channel.”
News Broadcasting
CNN-News18 rolls out Battle for the States ahead of key polls
Multi-format election coverage tracks voter mood across five battleground states
NEW DELHI: CNN-News18 has launched a special election programming initiative titled Battle for the States, as India gears up for high-stakes Assembly elections across West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and Puducherry.
Built around the theme ‘Road to Power’, the multi-format coverage aims to follow the entire electoral journey, from campaigning and polling to results and government formation. The network is leaning into on-ground reportage and data-backed storytelling to decode voter sentiment across regions where local issues often shape the narrative.
The programming line-up includes ‘Vote Tracker’, a three-part series developed in collaboration with survey agency Vote Vibe. The show blends survey insights with expert commentary and field reporting, using augmented reality graphics to present complex electoral data such as vote share, seat projections and leadership preferences in a more accessible format. It will air every Monday evening until April 6.
Adding a cultural lens to political reporting is ‘So Saree!’, a ground-driven segment where women anchors travel across constituencies dressed in traditional handwoven sarees from each state. The format uses attire as a storytelling device, highlighting regional identity while capturing grassroots voices.
Meanwhile, ‘Unfiltered Kaapi’ and ‘Chai-Niti’ bring a more conversational tone, drawing inspiration from everyday political discussions in tea stalls and coffee corners. These segments aim to break down key issues through candid, fast-paced exchanges between anchors and reporters, tailored to regional sensibilities.
For viewers seeking deeper insights, the weekend docuseries ‘Reporters Project’ takes a longer view, with correspondents travelling across constituencies to map voter concerns and political shifts on the ground.
“Elections are about people, their aspirations, identities and the issues that matter to them, and every state tells a different story,” said CNN-News18 editorial affairs director Rahul Shivshankar. He added that the initiative focuses on understanding “the sentiment on the ground and what’s driving voter choices”.
Echoing the emphasis on credibility, Network18 CEO – English and business news Smriti Mehra said the network aims to combine on-ground reporting with data-led insights to deliver clear and timely coverage as the elections unfold.
With a mix of data, culture and grassroots reporting, CNN-News18 is positioning Battle for the States as a comprehensive window into one of India’s most closely watched electoral cycles, where every vote carries a story waiting to be told.
