News Broadcasting
DD bags Commonwealth Games rights
NEW DELHI: The telecast rights of the Commonwealth Games 2006 have been bagged by pubcaster Prasar Bharati, beating competition from a pay TV operator that had quoted a higher fee for the rights of the India region.
The deal, signed after some tough negotiations between the organizers of the Games and Prasar Bharati (that manages Doordarshan and All India Radio), envisages the Indian pubcaster paying a rights fee of $ 400,000.
The agreement also provides for a 70:30 revenue share in favour of Prasar Bharati for ad revenues generated over the rights fee, the pubcaster said in a statement today.
Both the Games organizers and Prasar Bharati termed the agreement a win-win one for all parties concerned. The pubcaster claimed a high level team, led by its chief executive KS Sarma, concluded the deal with M2006, the entity that holds the world-wide rights for the Game.
Besides Prasar Bharati, another private sector pay TV operator had also bid for the rights quoting a price of over $ 700,000.
What tilted the balance in favour of Prasar Bharati was a set of media norms announced by the Indian government recently that stipulates all sporting events of national importance will have to be shared with the pubcaster on a mandatory basis even if private broadcasters hold the rights.
And, Commonwealth Games, which is to be held next in Delhi in 2010 afterMelbourne, certainly fell in the category of events of national importance for India.
However, Prasar Bharati claimed that the Games organizers preferred it over a pay TV operator as they wanted the events to reach out to the largest number of TV audiences in India. As the terrestrial broadcaster, DD lays claims to be reaching almost 90 per cent of the nearly 100 million TV homes in a country with over one billion population.
The event, which will be held in Melbourne from 15-26 March, 2006, will be broadcast live over Doordarshan’s terrestrial network — DD National — and its satellite channel, DD Sports. All India Radio will broadcast running commentary of important matches and events.
The 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games will feature 16 events, including athletics, swimming, gymnastics, shooting, weightlifting, hockey, badminton, table tennis, basketball, boxing and cycling, among others. More than 4,500 sporting personalities from 72 countries will take part in the 12-day event.
The 18th Commonwealth Games are touted as the biggest sporting event to be held in Melbourne, even bigger than the Olympics, which the Victorian city hosted in 1956.
News Broadcasting
CNN-News18 to host Kolkata Town Hall on Hooghly River
‘Bhalobasa Bengal Inspiring Bharat’ event on April 20 brings cultural icons, trailblazing women and leaders aboard a cruise to celebrate Bengal’s enduring influence.
MUMBAI: Bengal is about to make fresh waves on the Hooghly and this time the current is pure conversation. CNN-News18 is taking its iconic Town Hall format to the waters of the iconic Hooghly River on 20 April 2026 with a special edition titled ‘Bhalobasa Bengal – Inspiring Bharat’. The floating event will celebrate the state’s rich cultural legacy and how its ideas, creativity and spirit continue to shape the rest of the country.
The unique riverside setting draws on Bengal’s history as a cradle of reform, art and intellectual thought. The speaker line-up mirrors that diversity: cultural heavyweights Mithun Chakraborty and Sreenanda Shankar will share the stage with trailblazing “Devis” such as Tanya Sanyal (India’s first woman firefighter in aviation), Ipsita Chakraborty (Kolkata’s first woman bartender) and Reshma Nilofer Visalakshi (Nari Shakti awardee and marine pilot). Music will flow through the celebrated pianist-vocalist duo Sourendro and Soumyojit, while public life and governance will be represented by Smriti Irani, Leander Paes, Saira Shah Halim, Keya Ghosh, Rekha Patra, Roopa Ganguly and Babul Supriyo.
CNN-News18, editorial affairs director, Rahul Shivshankar, said the event honours voices that carry Bengal’s legacy forward. Smriti Mehra, CEO – English & Business News, Network18, added that Bengal’s stories resonate far beyond its borders, especially as the state heads into polls.
From the first woman to battle flames in the skies to legendary actors who shaped Indian cinema, the gathering promises a rich mix of inspiration, courage and candid dialogue. In a city where culture has always flowed as freely as the river itself, CNN-News18 is turning the Hooghly into a floating forum for ideas that matter.
Tune in on 20 April on CNN-News18, CTV and YouTube to catch Bengal’s heartbeat in full flow.
