News Broadcasting
India’s NatWest cricket finals win delivers ESPN year’s highest C&S ratings
MUMBAI: ESPN’s live telecast of the NatWest series finals on 13 July registered an unprecedented viewership with ratings touching a record high of 19.31 TVR for all C&S homes 4+ category, the company has asserted.
The final hour of the NatWest finals on ESPN thus created a record for the most watched television programme this year across all channels by registering an average of 14.7 TVR for all C&S homes, 4 + category, an official release states, quoting TAM Media Research data.
During the nail-biting finish which saw some electric performances by India’s young turks led by new batting sensation Mohammed Kaif , Male, 15+, SEC ABC, all India, the target group for media buyers on sports channels, registered a record TVR of 22.16, the highest for any sports broadcast across C&S homes for the last two years.
Manu Sawhney, managing director of ESPN Software India Pvt. Ltd., said: “I believe a combination of exciting India playing one-day cricket, the exclusive nature of live telecast on ESPN, and ESPN STAR Sports being the highest penetrated encrypted channels across India helped us deliver the record ratings.”
More audiences tuned in for the entire duration of India batting telecast on ESPN (over 4 hours) recording a phenomenal average of 11.5 TVR for all C&S homes 4+ category, and 15.3 TVR for Male, 15+, SEC ABC, all India, the target group for the sports channels, the release states.
Over 23.6 million people across all C&S homes tuned in to watch an amazing Indian victory scoring over 325 runs playing second! Over 42 per cent of all males in 15+ SEC ABC category across the C&S homes India tuned in, the data shows.
The average sport ratings during the entire Indian batting session of the NatWest series final telecast on ESPN recorded a TVR of 13.4 offering tremendous value to sponsors Pepsi, LG, Samsung, TVS, Sahara India and Hindustan Lever, the release says.
Next up for ESPN Star Sports is the live and exclusive telecast of the India-England test series begins on Star Sports on Thursday, 25 July.
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.
