News Broadcasting
Reliance Industries announces schedule for Network18 open offer
MUMBAI: After announcing its open offer to acquire Network18 group’s public shareholding last week, Reliance Industries (RIL) has announced the schedule for the entire offer that will run between June and August.
12 June has been fixed for filing the Network18, TV18 and Infomedia draft letters with the securities and exchange board of India (SEBI) while 26 June has been fixed as the last date for competitive offer. Unless SEBI asks for additional information, it will give in its observations on the letters by 3 July. The identified date has been kept as 7 July.
The public shareholders should receive the letters of offer by 14 July which can be revised till 15 July. The committee of independent directors of the three companies shall give their recommendation to shareholders of target company by 17 July. 18 July is when the offer of opening public announcement will be published in newspapers. Tendering period opens on 21 July and ends on 4 August.
The last date for communicating the rejection/acceptance and completion of payment of consideration or refund of equity shares to the shareholders of the company is 20 August while the last date for publication of post-offer public announcement in the newspapers is 27 August.
A content licence agreement, dated 27 February 2012 was signed between Network18 and its subsidiary TV18 and Reliance Jio Infocomm, RIL’s subsidiary for content transmission through its 4G broadband network. Reliance Jio Infocomm shall have preferential access to its content on a first right basis.
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.
