News Broadcasting
FTV to press civil, criminal charges against MEN
MUMBAI: Fashion TV has finally decied to act. In a statement issued yesterday in Paris, FTV has said it is preparing ‘a civil criminal charge against Lalit Modi and Modi group in France and in India’.
According to the statement, the move to press charges was triggered when the fashion channel was informed that Modi Entertainment Network, which had a distribution agreement with FTV, ‘was entering into agreements selling the ‘Fashion Bars’ concept to third parties’.
According to the release, FTV has been informed that ‘MEN is collecting substantial advance payments of as much as $100 000 even though the agreement between MEN and Fashion TV has been terminated’.
While MEN, which has maintained a stoic silence these past two weeks after pressing charges against FTV for having entered into parallel ad sales agreement with the Worldwide Channel and starting a FTA feed on Asiasat 2, FTV now seems determined to get even with its former ally.
‘Even during the validity of the agreement, Modi needed the express written permission to engage Fashion TV in long term partnerships or franchising agreements such as Fashion Bars. Legal counsels in Paris consider this act by Modi as fraud as Modi has never and does not have in the present day the right to sign such agreements and take deposit, advance payments and royalties,’ the statement says.
MEN and Fashion TV had launched the Fashion Bar in Bangalore late last year as a means to promote brand loyalty and develop niche clientele among the upper crust. FTV promoter Michel Adam says, “We found out Lalit Modi has been doing this all the time, and that is why we terminated the agreement.”
Fashion TV is now appealing the stay order form Delhi High Court claiming that ‘information provided by Lalit Modi to obtain the injunction is full of lies’. The Delhi HC had earlier stayed Fashion TV from starting a parallel FTA feed.
The channel has openly declared war with MEN, advising ‘all interested parties to verify their commercial relationship between MODI Group and Fashion TV with their legal counsels.’
The ball now seems to be back in the Modis’ court.
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.
