News Broadcasting
Except for DNA, everything in ‘MTV Roadies 18’ has changed: Anshul Ailawadi
Mumbai: Viacom18 has completely sold out the inventory for “MTV Roadies: Season 18” in what is to be one of the most “financially healthy” seasons of the long-running show, Viacom18 head of youth, music and English entertainment Anshul Ailawadi told IndianTelevision.com at the launch event.
This season of “Roadies” has onboarded Infinix Smartphones as ‘presenting’ partner and CoinSwitch, Paree Sanitary Pads, Leverage Edu and Lakme Sun Expert as ‘co-powered by’ partner. It has also partnered with Rage Coffee, Wai Wai Noodles, Big Muscle Nutrition, Fly High Institute, Romsons Perfume.
“Outside of sport in India, I don’t know of any entertainment property that has a handset manufacturer, a crypto exchange, a make-up brand, an ed-tech company, and a sanitary pad manufacturer as your ‘presenting’ and ‘powered by’ sponsors,” said Ailwadi. “Then, of course, we have the NBA, Wai Wai Noodles, Rage Coffee and a couple more brands that have partnered with “Roadies.” This is India’s longest-running adventure reality show and for the interest of young people, honestly, there’s no better vehicle for the engagement that we offer.”
This year’s “MTV Roadies” will be hosted in South Africa. “The idea was to scale up the show 10 times and visually when we looked at which country or location was the best candidate, the consensus was that South Africa was the spot,” noted Ailwadi. “The kind of landscape and opportunities that it offers are very rare.”
The fresh season of “Roadies” will witness 20 new contestants who will be paired in a new ‘Buddy pairs’ format. The troop will hit the road and create pit stops across destinations where the contestants will unravel clues for their next task and destination. The new format will also see contestants and Sonu Sood come together over bonding sessions and camp fire huddles.
When queried about the format changes, Ailawadi said, “Let me answer that in another way by telling you what has not changed? The only thing that has not changed is the fact that the DNA of the show is about an adventure and a journey. Everything else has changed. This season has a new host, new location and new format. The show is still about pushing yourself and doing things you never thought you were capable of doing while inspiring your peers. That’s the gist of it. There are several innovations this season but you must watch the show to know more.”
To promote the new season, Viacom18 will broadcast the entire first episode of the show on five channels including MTV, MTV Beats, Colors Infinity, Comedy Central and Vh1 as well as roadblock 15 network channels to drive tune-ins. They have also launched a 360-degree marketing campaign across TV, digital, radio and outdoor.
“We’ve done a campaign with Sonu Sood, who is known for taking migrant workers to their homes during Covid-19, in partnership with metros in Delhi, Bangalore and Bombay that will broadcast a public service announcement voiced by Sonu Sood,” shared Ailawadi.
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.
