News Broadcasting
Prasar Bharati CEO moots revamp plan for AIR Mumbai
MUMBAI: Prasar Bharati plans to replace AIR transmission towers in Mumbai, currently 5 kilowatt capacity, with 20 KW towers shortly.
This will be done, says Prasar Bharati CEO K S Sarma in order to compete with the five private FM radio stations, which have 20 KW transmission towers, and hence have better reach and reception. Sarma says nearly Rs 150 million are proposed to be invested in the upgradation of the four FM2 channels and nine FM1 channels throughout the country.
Sarma says FM2, originally envisaged as a complete news channel, may also have news segments in various regional languages to cater to the different sections of population who rely on radio for news. Currently all four AIR stations in Mumbai, Mumbai A and B as well as FM1 and FM2, relay the same Hindi and English news segments throughout the day. The new programming could be based on the Pune AIR 7 to 8 am block, which relays five news bulletins in five different languages, he says.
During a brainstorming session with AIR officials in Mumbai on Wednesday, Sarma also suggested that all the AIR stations in Mumbai be christened with distinctive names, a la DD Sahyadri. The branding will not only help in awareness, but will also help the channels create a separate identity for themselves, he says.
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.
