News Broadcasting
Government ‘still compiling data’ on news channels uplink norms deadline
NEW DELHI: After the stridency, comes the leniency. The deadline to comply with uplink norms for news channels has come and gone, but the government is silent on the issue.
On Friday, a senior government official said that it’s still not clear whether everybody has complied with the regulation that stipulated that by 30 September all news channels uplinking from India were to restructure and
bring down their foreign holding to the permissible limit of 26 per cent.
“Data is still being compiled,” the official said, evading a direct reply whether the likes of Zee News and CNBC TV18 have complied with the uplink norms.
Though Zee News was hived off from Zee Telefilms into a separate company, which had majority Indian investment, mid-September, information and broadcasting minister Jaipal Reddy few days later had expressed ignorance of any restructuring in Zee News or CNBC TV 18.
Reddy had then maintained that the 30 September deadline would be strictly followed. On being contacted, an executive of Zee News Pvt. Ltd reiterated that compliance of government norms has been completed and the company had “not heard” anything new from the I&B ministry after the deadline.
Though CNBC TV 18 was not available for comments, industry sources claimed that the restructuring process is complete. It is expected to be on the lines of restructuring done by Zee News that is based on calculating the foreign holding in news companies on a pro rata basis, which makes the whole thing complicated.
“The complication cannot be helped as government norms are such,” a source close to the TV 18 CNBC restructuring told Indiantelevision.com.
On 16 September, Zee Telefilms had informed the Bombay Stock Exchange that it has decided to hive off its news business into a separate company, Zee News Pvt Ltd, which will have scaled down foreign holding.
In Zee News Pvt Ltd, Jayaneer Capital Private Ltd will hold 40 per cent and Churu Trading Company Private Ltd 25 per cent equity stake, while Zee Telefilms’ equity stake is 35 per cent, which works out under a complex
formula to about 20 per cent of foreign holding to comply with the 26 per cent cap.
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.
