News Broadcasting
Mumbai hopefuls shortlisted for Everest Se Takkar
MUMBAI: Five amateur mountaineers have been shortlisted from over 350 enthusiasts who turned up for the elimination rounds of the National Geographic’s Everest Se Takkar in Mumbai over the weekend.
Culled after a rigorous evaluation exercise, which included running, obstacle races, river rafting as well as a written interview and a gruelling psychological grilling, the five will join 15 others, selected from three other cities, in Delhi on 1 March and proceed to the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering in Uttarkashi, before embarking on the rigorous trek to the Everest base camp, 20,000 feet above sea level.
The Rs 110 million initiative, being undertaken in coordination with the Indian Army, is the first time that is being captured on a TV camera from start to finish. The cameras were in attendance even during the initial eliminations, when participants were required to speak a few words on film, and when they ran their course through the physical tests at the naval base in Colaba in southern Mumbai on Sunday.
The weekly telecasts of the Everest Se Takkar will begin from next week. The Everest initiative is the first time that National Geographic Channel will create local programming that is focused specifically on the Indian viewer. The channel will shoot the entire selection and training procedure and the final trudge to Everest.
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.
