News Broadcasting
FremantleMedia appoints director of operations for Asia Pacific
MUMBAI: FremantleMedia has appointed Simon Spalding to the newly created position of director of operations for Asia Pacific.
Spalding, previously FremantleMedia Licensing Worldwide (FLW) CEO, will take overall responsibility for the companys production businesses in the region which include Grundy Television and Crackerjack in Australia, Fremantle Productions Asia in Singapore and FremantleMedia Japan.
Spalding will report to FremantleMedia Regional CEO (Europe, Latin America, The Middle East and Asia Pacific) Doug Gluck. Grundy Australasia CEO Andrew Brooke and Fremantle Productions Asia MD Sue Adams will report directly to Spalding. The position is effective from November.
Commenting on the appointment, Gluck said, “I am delighted that Simon has agreed to manage our Asia Pacific operation. The region is a key area for FremantleMedia and we feel the time is right to establish a new role to build on the companys position as a leading player in this region. Over the last five years, Simon has overseen the very successful expansion of FremantleMedia Licensing Worldwide, which is now a key revenue generator for the company. His excellent leadership qualities and determination and drive will be a huge asset to our production companies in the region.”
Spalding added, “I am thrilled to have been given the opportunity to manage our Asia Pacific production businesses. In my time managing the companys growth in the licensing arena, I have been able to forge close working relationships with our production companies and senior executives in the region and look forward to working with them more closely in the future.”
Grundy TV in Australia is best known for its serial drama Neighbours and Australian Idol, but has also successfully relaunched Sale of the Century (Temptation) this summer as well as producing the first local version of UK format The X Factor. Comedy producer Crackerjacks recent successes include Australias Brainiest Kids, CNNN, Comedy Inc. and Pardon The Interruption.
FremantleMedia has had a production business in Asia since 1995 and has recently successfully launched the Idols franchise in India, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. A second series of Idols concluded its transmission in Indonesia in August and the Malaysian Idol final is due to air in September. A second series of Indian Idol has been commissioned for later this year.
Other series FremantleMedia has produced in Indonesia include Family Feud, The Price Is Right, Man O Man and Small Talk. Indonesia has also recently ordered a local version of The Apprentice.
FremantleMedia Japan, the joint venture between FremantleMedia and Tokyo-based Vogue Planet, produced its first programme in Japan, Mirai Model (Model Behaviour), for TV Tokyo in 2004.
Spalding was promoted to CEO of FLW in December 2002 having held the position of executive vice president and general manager, Worldwide Licensing, Fremantle Licensing Group.
Spaldings brief covered licensing, music publishing, interactive, home entertainment, business diversification and archive sales developing product and promotional associations that enhance and extend consumers experience of the companys programme brands. He joined Pearson Television, as it was then known, in 1999 as executive vice president Worldwide Merchandising.
Prior to joining Pearson Television, Spalding was head of consumer products for DreamWorks, where he was responsible for establishing this new division and also managed the successful licensing and retail programmes behind Chicken Run, The Prince of Egypt and Small Soldiers. Before moving into licensing, Spalding spent 14 years in the toy business, most recently as senior vice president strategic marketing for Hasbro Europes Toy Group.
News Broadcasting
CNN-News18 to air live counting day coverage for five state election results on May 4
The channel is rolling out its biggest election coverage machinery yet for results day on 4th May
NOIDA: The votes have been cast. Now comes the reckoning. CNN-News18 is pulling out all the stops for results day on 4th May, when counting begins across five battleground states — West Bengal, Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and the Union Territory of Puducherry — in what promises to be one of the most closely watched electoral verdicts in recent memory.
The channel’s coverage, titled Battle for the States: The Verdict, kicks off at 7am and runs through the day across linear TV, connected television and YouTube. It is the culmination of CNN-News18’s multi-format editorial initiative, Battle for the States, which has tracked the polls from the beginning under the theme Road to Power.
At the operational heart of the coverage will be the Live Results Hub, the channel’s central command centre built to collate, verify and process real-time data flowing in from reporters stationed at counting centres across constituencies. The hub combines newsroom intelligence, analytics and on-the-ground reporting to deliver what the channel promises will be the fastest and most accurate results coverage in English news.
Leading the on-air charge will be primetime anchors Rahul Shivshankar, Anand Narasimhan, Aman Sharma, Nabila Jamal and Shivani Gupta. They will be joined by a wide panel of commentators including author Chetan Bhagat; GVL Narasimha Rao, senior leader of the BJP; Smita Prakash, editor of ANI; activist Saira Shah Halim; political analyst Sumanth C Raman; Abhijit Iyer Mitra, senior fellow at IPCS; Amitabh Tiwari, founder of VoteVibe; columnist Abhijit Majumdar; Nalin Mehta, managing editor of MoneyControl; political analyst Tehseen Poonawalla; senior journalist Subir Bhaumik; and political analyst Manojit Mandal.
Shivshankar, who serves as editorial affairs director at CNN-News18, set out the stakes plainly. “Counting day is one of the most watched events in the electoral cycle, where speed and credibility are tested in real time,” he said. “Battle for the States: The Verdict is built on that promise, combining ground reporting, sharp analysis and cutting-edge election technology to give viewers the clearest and fastest route to the verdict. On May 4, CNN-News18 will once again be the nation’s most trusted channel to witness democracy in action.”
Smriti Mehra, chief executive of English and Business News at Network18, framed the coverage in broader terms. “Elections are defining national events, and audiences turn to brands they trust in moments that matter,” she said. “CNN-News18 has consistently led from the front in every election coverage, and this special programming reflects the scale of our ambition and editorial strength.”
The channel has form here. It claims to have been India’s most preferred English news destination for election results for the past 20 years, covering everything from the 2024 general elections to the Delhi, Maharashtra, Bihar and BMC polls on the back of what it calls an “Always First, Always Right” record. Five states, one day, and a nation waiting for answers. The clock starts at 7am on 4th May.
