News Broadcasting
Gujarat Samachar to launch TV channel; Thakkar to head ad sales
MUMBAI: Gujarat Samachar, the largest read Gujarati daily, is venturing into the television regional-language news business through one of its owners, ahead of the state assembly elections.
Shreyans Shah, co-owner of the daily newspaper, is floating a new company, Aas Pass TV, to house the television project. The Gujarati-language channel will have a prime focus in news while entertainment programming will also form a part of the mix.
Shah is planning to launch the channel in November. The name is yet to be decided.
Shah has tapped TV9 senior vice-president Nilesh Thakkar to head ad sales and marketing. Designated as director-sales and marketing, Thakkar will be reporting to Shah.
“We are aiming to launch the channel in the second week of November. The focus obviously will be on political news and our launch timing is favourable as Gujarat assembly elections are coming up,” Thakkar tells Indiantelevision.com.
Thakkar comes in with over 19 years of experience in sales and marketing. Prior to joining TV9, he was with Mahua as senior VP. He had also worked with MCCS, which runs Star News, Star Majha and Star Anand, as regional manager from January 2005 till 2011. In 2007, he was promoted as all India sales head for Star Majha.
The channel will also be airing advertiser-funded programmes (AFPs).
In the Gujarati TV news space, TV9 Gujarati dominates the market.
“Gujarat is a tough market,” admits Thakkar. “The viewership for Hindi general entertainment and news channels is very strong. But we have a business plan and Gujarat Samachar is a very well known newspaper.”
Gujarat Samachar is the largest read Gujarati daily. It is published from seven cities in Gujarat and also from Mumbai, the US and the UK.
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.
