News Broadcasting
IBN channels & sites plan special I-Day programming
NEW DELHI: IBN channels — CNN-IBN, IBN7, IBN-Lokmat — and its two news portals — ibnlive.com and ibnkhabar.com — have planned special programming to celebrate the country’s 62nd Independence Day.
The sixth edition of bi-annual State of the Nation Poll, this Independence Day will focus on ‘The Great Indian Urban Family’ which will be aired both on CNN-IBN and IBN7.
The channel will also air the ‘Freedom of speech contest’ which will see ordinary citizens share their own version of the historic freedom speech by late Jawaharlal Nehru. The show will have celebrities and sports personalities articulating on what freedom means to them, changes they want to bring and how it can be done. The best speeches will go on-air across the network channels.
In addition, the channels will pay a tribute to soldiers through the show, ‘Mothers of martyrs special’ where mothers of martyrs will cook the favourite food of their sons in their memory.
Independence Day’s mood will be further celebrated with a musical show like ‘India rocks on’, where director-actor Farhan Akhtar along with the team of the upcoming movie ‘Rock on’ will interact with and perform to a live audience.
Moreover, ‘The Ranbir show’ will have Ranbir Kapoor and the leading ladies Deepika Padukone, Bipasha Basu and Minnisha Lamba from the film ‘Bachna Ae Haseeno’ movie sharing the experience of the movie.
The Independence week will also telecast ‘Ten defining moments’ and ‘The real heroes’ shows.
Apart from this IBN-Lokmat, the Marathi channel of the network will be airing a series of programmes under the theme of “Youth and freedom”. This includes a talk show anchored by the Nikhil Wagle, Editor IBN-Lokmat.
Ibnlive.com and ibnkhabar.com, the news portal of CNN-IBN and IBN 7, will also be hosting interactive contests like Colours of India, Freedom Blogs and Hoist a Flag. Viewers who miss out on the special on-air programming can even catch the videos on the news portals ibnlive.com and ibnkhabar.com.
News Broadcasting
CNN-News18 to host Kolkata Town Hall on Hooghly River
‘Bhalobasa Bengal Inspiring Bharat’ event on April 20 brings cultural icons, trailblazing women and leaders aboard a cruise to celebrate Bengal’s enduring influence.
MUMBAI: Bengal is about to make fresh waves on the Hooghly and this time the current is pure conversation. CNN-News18 is taking its iconic Town Hall format to the waters of the iconic Hooghly River on 20 April 2026 with a special edition titled ‘Bhalobasa Bengal – Inspiring Bharat’. The floating event will celebrate the state’s rich cultural legacy and how its ideas, creativity and spirit continue to shape the rest of the country.
The unique riverside setting draws on Bengal’s history as a cradle of reform, art and intellectual thought. The speaker line-up mirrors that diversity: cultural heavyweights Mithun Chakraborty and Sreenanda Shankar will share the stage with trailblazing “Devis” such as Tanya Sanyal (India’s first woman firefighter in aviation), Ipsita Chakraborty (Kolkata’s first woman bartender) and Reshma Nilofer Visalakshi (Nari Shakti awardee and marine pilot). Music will flow through the celebrated pianist-vocalist duo Sourendro and Soumyojit, while public life and governance will be represented by Smriti Irani, Leander Paes, Saira Shah Halim, Keya Ghosh, Rekha Patra, Roopa Ganguly and Babul Supriyo.
CNN-News18, editorial affairs director, Rahul Shivshankar, said the event honours voices that carry Bengal’s legacy forward. Smriti Mehra, CEO – English & Business News, Network18, added that Bengal’s stories resonate far beyond its borders, especially as the state heads into polls.
From the first woman to battle flames in the skies to legendary actors who shaped Indian cinema, the gathering promises a rich mix of inspiration, courage and candid dialogue. In a city where culture has always flowed as freely as the river itself, CNN-News18 is turning the Hooghly into a floating forum for ideas that matter.
Tune in on 20 April on CNN-News18, CTV and YouTube to catch Bengal’s heartbeat in full flow.
