News Broadcasting
Rupert Murdoch may step down as chairman of BSkyB in favour of James
MUMBAI: The “Asian” star continues its ascent. Star chairman and CEO James Murdoch looks set to have another attachment to his title – chairman of British Sky Broadcasting Group (BSkyB).
News Corp head Rupert Murdoch is all set to relinquish his post as chairman of BSkyB to ease the way for son and now touted as heir-apparent James to take over smoothly as chief executive of the company, according to a report in the UK’s Observer today.
Murdoch’s 30-year-old son, thus far seen as the one who turned around Star’s Asia fortunes, is being lined up to take over the reins at the pay TV company as a precursor to succeeding his father at the head of News Corp.
Media reports last week indicated that current BSkyB CEO Tony Ball was set to exit the company when his contract expires in May 2004. James was appointed to the BSkyB board in February this year and has been seen as a possible successor to Ball all along. James, who cut his teeth in the media business with Star, rose in the eyes of investors and media alike, when he helped turn the company’s fortunes and took it to the top of the heap in the region in the process.
Murdoch Junior would probably be doffing more than just the symbolic cap to his team in India, which has more than anything else been responsible for catapulting News Corp’s Asian operations into the safe orbit it finds itself in today.
Rupert Murdoch owns 35.4 per cent of the British pay-TV company. According to the Observer, senior executives from elsewhere within Murdoch’s empire would be seconded to BSkyB to help James while he settled into the role of CEO.
While some reports have hinted at Ball’s tempestous relationship with his employer leading to his imminent exit from the company, others have mentioned a desire on Ball’s part to look for other options that triggered negotiations about his departure. BSkyB however, has not offered any official comment thus far.
If Ball’s time as chief executive is over, it is unlikely to be the end of his association with Rupert Murdoch, who has employed him for 10 years, according to the UK’s Guardian. His contract with BSkyB states that on termination of his employment he has the right to be employed by News Corp on terms “at least as beneficial to him as the terms of his employment package [with BSkyB]”.
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.
