News Broadcasting
Lanka Tests telecast: DD ire at BCCI
NEW DELHI: It seems that the Indian cricket board remains unfazed by a recently-announced law that pubcaster’s should get all sports of national importance — primarily cricket— irrespective of the fact who holds the telecast rights.
Expressing his irritation at the Board of Control for India in India (BCCI)’s attitude, Prasar Bharati CEO, KS Sarma, told Indiantelevision.com that he’d write to the cricket authorities again on Test matches against Sri Lanka beginning, January 2006.
Pointing out that BCCI hasn’t reverted to a request by Prasar Bharati, which manages Doordarshan, to clarify its stand on the Test matches, Sarma said, “We would write to the BCCI again during the first ODI against South Africa to be played at Hyderabad soon. We want some clarity on the Tests as we have to make some arrangements for their telecast.”
According to Sarma, every day’s delay by BCCI on formally awarding telecast rights of the three Test matches against Sri Lanka is reducing the pubcaster’s scope for marketing cricket “more effectively” to advertisers and sponsors.
Though DD has the telecast rights for the one-day matches against Sri Lanka (already concluded) and the forthcoming series against South Africa, a pending court case on the telecast issue has made BCCI watchful against awarding rights to anybody arbitrarily, a senior Board official said.
The official was evasive when asked whether BCCI is now bound by a new guideline relating to sports telecast in the country as part of a downlinking law.Sarma pointed out that DD hopes to mop up over Rs 1.5 billion in advertising revenue from the ODI series against Lanka and South Africa.
Meanwhile, Sarma added that no decision has been taken on the telecast of the Commonwealth Games to be held in Australia next year. “We haven’t heard anything from the Games’ organizers yet,” he added.
DD had earlier given up its claims on having omnibus rights — satellite, terrestrial and DTH — for the Commonwealth Games 2006 after protracted negotiation with organizers, seeking only terrestrial rights.
But ,with the enactment of downlink laws, which stipulates sports feeds of national importance to be shared with the pubcaster on a mandatory basis, things might change.
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.
