News Broadcasting
Hughes Electronics changes name to DirectTV Group
MUMBAI: Hughes Electronics has announced that it has changed its company name to The DirectTV Group. In addition, the Company has changed its ticker symbol on the New York Stock Exchange to “DTV,” from the current “HS” symbol. It has started trading under the new name and symbol.
The company’s president and CEO Chase Carey was quoted in a company release saying, “The future of this company is centered on Directv. Directv will drive both our strategy and shareholder value going forward. Our new name better reflects our commitment to building our business around Directv which is the established leader in digital multichannel television service in the US. With more than 12.2 million customers, the Directv name and brand resonates with consumers and this name change reaffirms and reinforces that our future lies with this business.”
The company’s business units Directv, Hughes Network Systems, DirecTV Latin America and satellite operator Panamsat will remain units of The DirecTV Group. In conjunction with its name change, The Directv Group will have a new corporate logo. In addition, the company’s Web site URL has changed to directv.com. Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation has a 34 per cent stake in the company.
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.
