News Broadcasting
Sahara Samay launching three new shows post-elections
MUMBAI: After putting into effect some human resource reorganisation, Sahara Samay has readied to launch three programmes that have been conceptualised on tried and tested formulae. The three shows go on air after the assembly election results are out.
Sahara Samay Rashtriya, the national news channel of the group, is planning to introduce a show called Crime and Punishment (not a serialisation of Fyodor Dostoevskys classic it needs noting), a crime-based show to be produced by Suhaib Ilyasi who shot to fame after Indias Most Wanted on Zee TV.
Though Sahara’s Crime and Punishment is not about young man Raskolnikov’s journey through insanity and the lives affected by it,Ilyasi would attempt to cover high profile crime cases delivering true tales.
For example, one of the episodes explores the gruesome murder of a Delhi woman, Naina Sahni, allegedly by her employer-cum-friend Sushil Sharma, a small time Congress politician, in 1995. The case came to be known as the `Tandoor case’, taking its name from the big earthern oven (tandoor) often used by hotels, in which Sahni’s body was roasted
Realising that crime shows do rock the charts, Sahara Samay is employing Ilyasi’s services for the show. However, because of an existing contract that Ilyasi has with Rajat Sharma’s India TV, he would not anchor Crime and Punishment.
What with everybody talking cricket these days, including the Courts, Sahara Samay is also looking at roping in former flamboyant cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan for a cricket show. Former Indian cricketers Ajay Jadeja, Kirti Azad and Ashok Malhotra will appear in pre and post-match highlight shows for the one-day internationals to be played between Pakistan and India in March and April.
And with NDTV having made a success of satirical programmes like Gustakhi Maaf, using puppetry, Sahara Samay, too, is looking at introducing Cartoon Show to provide relief to viewers.
This programme will air before or after the breaks at prime time hours only. The bi-weekly 10-minute show, with two repeats, will showcase caricatures of an invited guest and include segments like profiles of top players in politics and sports. The show wil be hosted by Delhi-based cartoonist Irfaan.
In an another development, Sahara’s various region-specific channels are creating a business time band that will air at 7 pm or 7:30 pm from mid-March. As there are a plethora of news channels carrying information on the stock markets, Sahara channels will concentrate on small towns and businesses that affect the lives of people living in such places.
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.
