News Broadcasting
Prasar Bharati still to tie up deal with WSG Nimbus for telecast of ICC Cricket tourneys
Pubcaster Prasar Bharati’s board these days is seized with matters mostly related to telecast rights. If it is not football, then it must be cricket. A recent meeting of the board just did that – discuss the issue relating to the terrestrial rights of the ICC-organised cricket matches.
“Even the board meeting slated for early next month will discuss the cricket telecast issue as DD cannot simply afford to ignore the cricket matches in a cricket-crazy nation like ours,” a senior Prasar Bharati official told indiantelevision.com on Thursday.
The telecast rights of the ICC-organised cricket matches for the next six years is held by World Sports Nimbus combine, a joint venture between World Sports and Mumbai-based Nimbus Communications, which sold the satellite rights for the India region to Sony Entertainment Television India for a reported sum of $255 million.
Admitting that DD, despite being the national broadcaster, is slowly getting edged out of the sports telecast scene in India in recent times, the official said: “Private channels can push through some decisions fast, but being remote-controlled by the government still, Prasar Bharati Corporation cannot take quick decisions where huge amounts of money are involved. We have to take into consideration not only economic factors, but political ones too.”
DD has been in negotiations with World Sport Nimbus for the sale of terrestrial rights of the cricket matches, including the next two World Cups. But talks reportedly broke down as DD’s offer did not find much favour with World Sport Nimbus negotiators, which included the joint venture’s co-chairman and managing director of Nimbus Communication Harish Thawani.
When contacted, Thawani refused to either confirm or deny the report other than to say: “We do not discuss commercial negotiations that are in progress.”
News Broadcasting
News18 India to air Sabse Bada Dangal on 4 May counting day
Channel promises fastest results, live trends and analysis across five states.
MUMBAI: Ballots will do the talking and screens will do the shouting. As counting day approaches for high-stakes Assembly elections across West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and Puducherry, News18 India is gearing up for an all-day broadcast of its flagship election show, Sabse Bada Dangal, on 4 May from 6 am onwards. The Hindi news channel plans to deliver continuous, real-time updates as votes are tallied, combining live counting data with on-ground reporting and studio analysis. With political fortunes set to shift through the day, the coverage will track every swing, surge and surprise as trends turn into results.
The broadcast will feature a mix of senior political leaders, analysts and experts, offering instant reactions and decoding the evolving electoral picture. Expect heated debates, quick takes and detailed breakdowns as the numbers settle across all five states.
For News18 India, counting day has long been a high-visibility moment. The network is banking on its reporting reach, editorial bandwidth and technology-driven coverage to stay ahead in what is often a fiercely competitive news cycle.
With multiple battlegrounds and shifting narratives, the day promises both drama and data in equal measure. And if all goes to plan, Sabse Bada Dangal will once again turn the counting of votes into prime-time spectacle.
