News Broadcasting
FM broadcaster wins licence, allies with Star
Music Broadcast Pvt. Ltd, a company promoted by the Mittal group, has signed a licence agreement for operating FM channels.
It is one of 16 companies to have signed licence agreements after furnishing bank guarantees amounting to Rs1587.5 million for operating 37 FM channels, according to the United News of India.
Music Broadcast won its licence after committing Rs413 million as bank guarantee. It will be operating from six centres: Mumbai, New Delhi, Bangalore, Nagpur, Lucknow and Patna.
The company looks set to be a major player in the FM wars because of its association with the Star TV Network. Star will handle the service end, essentially ad sales, according to Yash Khanna, Star TV’s Head of Communications.
Queried whether Star was also looking at providing content for the channel, Khanna said he could not comment as discussions were still in progress. Details of the contract were being worked out, he said. Once the final agreement had been reached a clear picture would emerge, he added. Though letters of intent were issued to 26 companies for operation of 93 channels, only 16 companies won licences.
However, nine broadcasting companies, who had been successful in the bidding, had filed five cases in Delhi High Court. “These are being heard simultaneously,” Information & Broadcasting Minister Sushma Swaraj said in the Rajya Sabha. The modalities of Star’s deal with Music Broadcast will be watched with interest as a pointer to how the FM ‘wars’ may play out.
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.
