News Broadcasting
NH Studioz paves the way for Doordarshan’s grand revival
Mumbai: NH Studioz, one of India’s premier content houses with a colossal copyright library of over 2500 feature films, has been awarded the tender and entered into a landmark agreement with Doordarshan (DD), India’s pioneering and most widely watched television channel. In a significant move that marks a new era of content synergy, NH Studioz has leased slots on DD for a two-year period, taking complete ownership of daily afternoon slots from 1 pm to 4 pm and weekend prime time slots from 8 pm onwards. They will be taking care of entire programming, advertising sales, marketing, and promotions.
The agreement includes exclusive programming, advertising sales, marketing, and promotional responsibilities. Doordarshan, with its historical significance as India’s first and oldest television channel, boasts an unparalleled reach. The channel’s cultural impact, strategic placement on all platforms, government partnership, and emotional connect with viewers from diverse demographics make it the ideal platform for NH Studioz to expand its reach and engage with audiences nationwide.
NH Studioz director Shreyans Hirawat expressed his enthusiasm for the collaboration, stating, “This partnership with Doordarshan represents a historic moment for NH Studioz. We are excited to bring our extensive content library and programming expertise to DD’s platform, and we look forward to providing captivating entertainment to viewers across the nation.”
NH Studioz’s decision to collaborate with Doordarshan aligns with DD’s aggressive approach to revitalise its platform with new and engaging content. Recent initiatives by DD include shows by renowned creators like Subhash Ghai (“Janaki”), Shilpa Shetty (“Yoga”), and a collaboration with Netflix for “Azaadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.”
NH Studioz sees this partnership with Doordarshan as a significant step in shaping the future of entertainment in India. It combines the strength of NH Studioz’s vast content library and programming expertise with Doordarshan’s historic presence, wide reach, and enduring cultural significance. Together, they aim to provide engaging content to viewers across the nation, from tier 2 and tier 3 markets to cultural and festive occasions, reinforcing Doordarshan’s position as an integral part of Indian families.
With a history of delivering exceptional cinematic experiences, NH Studioz has established itself as a major contributor to the programming of leading movie channels like Star Gold, Zee Cinema, and Set Max, consistently accounting for impressive programming of their content. The studio’s diverse film library, spanning from classics of the 1950s to contemporary releases in 2023, caters to audiences of all demographics and features the biggest names in Indian cinema, including icons like Amitabh Bachchan, Kartik Aryan, Ranbir Kapoor, and more. NH Studioz boasts a vibrant social media presence, with an engaged audience viewing approximately 50 million hours monthly across 33 channels, serving a subscriber base of 35 million users.
News Broadcasting
CNN-News18 to air live counting day coverage for five state election results on May 4
The channel is rolling out its biggest election coverage machinery yet for results day on 4th May
NOIDA: The votes have been cast. Now comes the reckoning. CNN-News18 is pulling out all the stops for results day on 4th May, when counting begins across five battleground states — West Bengal, Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and the Union Territory of Puducherry — in what promises to be one of the most closely watched electoral verdicts in recent memory.
The channel’s coverage, titled Battle for the States: The Verdict, kicks off at 7am and runs through the day across linear TV, connected television and YouTube. It is the culmination of CNN-News18’s multi-format editorial initiative, Battle for the States, which has tracked the polls from the beginning under the theme Road to Power.
At the operational heart of the coverage will be the Live Results Hub, the channel’s central command centre built to collate, verify and process real-time data flowing in from reporters stationed at counting centres across constituencies. The hub combines newsroom intelligence, analytics and on-the-ground reporting to deliver what the channel promises will be the fastest and most accurate results coverage in English news.
Leading the on-air charge will be primetime anchors Rahul Shivshankar, Anand Narasimhan, Aman Sharma, Nabila Jamal and Shivani Gupta. They will be joined by a wide panel of commentators including author Chetan Bhagat; GVL Narasimha Rao, senior leader of the BJP; Smita Prakash, editor of ANI; activist Saira Shah Halim; political analyst Sumanth C Raman; Abhijit Iyer Mitra, senior fellow at IPCS; Amitabh Tiwari, founder of VoteVibe; columnist Abhijit Majumdar; Nalin Mehta, managing editor of MoneyControl; political analyst Tehseen Poonawalla; senior journalist Subir Bhaumik; and political analyst Manojit Mandal.
Shivshankar, who serves as editorial affairs director at CNN-News18, set out the stakes plainly. “Counting day is one of the most watched events in the electoral cycle, where speed and credibility are tested in real time,” he said. “Battle for the States: The Verdict is built on that promise, combining ground reporting, sharp analysis and cutting-edge election technology to give viewers the clearest and fastest route to the verdict. On May 4, CNN-News18 will once again be the nation’s most trusted channel to witness democracy in action.”
Smriti Mehra, chief executive of English and Business News at Network18, framed the coverage in broader terms. “Elections are defining national events, and audiences turn to brands they trust in moments that matter,” she said. “CNN-News18 has consistently led from the front in every election coverage, and this special programming reflects the scale of our ambition and editorial strength.”
The channel has form here. It claims to have been India’s most preferred English news destination for election results for the past 20 years, covering everything from the 2024 general elections to the Delhi, Maharashtra, Bihar and BMC polls on the back of what it calls an “Always First, Always Right” record. Five states, one day, and a nation waiting for answers. The clock starts at 7am on 4th May.
