News Broadcasting
Rothwell, Maglione to head IMG’s sports, entertainment worldwide licensing
MUMBAI: Global sports, entertainment and media company IMG has announced that Tim Rothwell and Bruno Maglione have joined the company as executive VPs and Co-MDs of worldwide licensing and consumer products.
They will report to IMG Sports and Entertainment president George Pyne. They will leverage IMG’s relationships and intellectual property assets to launch licensing programmes across the company’s entertainment, media, fashion and sports businesses in the US and internationally.
Rothwell will be based out of Los Angeles, whereas Maglione will function from London.
IMG chairman and CEO Ted Forstmann says, “This is a very significant step in our strategy to develop our entertainment and media businesses, and more fully leverage our fashion and sports properties, as we continue building IMG’s global sports, entertainment and media presence worldwide.
“With Tim and Bruno’s energy, experience and talent, we believe there are unlimited opportunities for IMG, and we are delighted that they are joining the company to lead the licensing business around the world.”
Pyne commented, “I know from experience that investing in licensing with world-class talent is an opportunity to exponentially accelerate the growth of all the brands IMG owns and represents around the world. Tim and Bruno have worked together for a number of years with great success, first at Universal Studios and then at Marvel Entertainment, where they launched some of the most significant, innovative, exciting and successful licensing programs for the leading entertainment brands in the world. Adding this accomplished team is a perfect fit with IMG’s growth strategy.”
Rothwell added, “Both Bruno and I see great promise in Ted Forstmann’s vision for the Company. While we have built many brands and businesses together in the past, we are amazed by the breadth of properties and resources housed within IMG. We are already full of ideas for leveraging IMG’s entertainment, media, fashion and sports assets in new and creative ways.”
Maglione said, “We are very excited to be joining IMG during this key period of development. IMG’s global presence in 60 offices in 30 countries and strong roster of relationships and brands are unique assets with which to work. Together with Ted’s compelling new vision for the company, they offer outstanding growth potential.”
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.
