News Broadcasting
Opalina says Republic leads in Twitter chatter
MUMBAI: You gotta hand it to the debutant Republic TV headed by the aggressive and hyper-on-steroids Arnab Goswami. He, along with the team led by Vikas Khanchandani, seems to be sparing no effort to reinforce the perception that the channel is on course to leadership in the English news channel space.
Starting with dual and multiple placement of his channel on various LCNs on cable TV networks, to now claiming that he is beating all and sundry on Twitter – he and the team at Republic TV are clearly flogging their horses hard.
According to Twitter listening data provided to indiantelevision.com by Opalina Technologies, Republic TV claims that it has managed to generate three times more conversation (aggregated volume for on air hashtags) than English news market leader Times Now on Twitter between 6 and 12 May 2017.
Opalina further explains that Republic has roughly three per cent of the followers as compared to Times Now (241,000 followers as compared to Times Now’s 7.4 million). However, Republic generated 261,000 tweets from its viewers in the period as compared to Times Now’s 86,000 which translates into 1.21 tweets per Republic Twitter follower as compared to .01 tweets per Times Now Twitter follower.
Amongst the hashtags Opalina says that worked are:
#akhileshinsultsmartyrs, #arvindgate, #arvindgate, #endtripletalaq,
#gandhipapers, #indiawithkulbhushan, #iskejricorrupt, #lalutapeexposed, #nototripletalaq, #republicstingslashkar, #sunandamurdertapes, #traitorzakirbanned and #zakirconversionfactory.
“We have provided this authenticated and verifiable granular data (breakdown) confirmed by three independent sources,” Opalina co-founder Gaurav Sharma told indiantelevision.com. “The data is in the public domain — which we extracted and summarised,” he said. To a question, Sharma said, “We would stand by our data and ready to discuss with anybody who would dispute this data set.”
Now in the battle which is steaming up in the English news channel genre, one wonders which is the next parameter the channels will resort to assert their supremacy: the number of guests per night on prime time?
“Who knows,” says a long-time news television observer. “News TV has changed its complexion in India and it’s like in no other nation.”
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.
