News Broadcasting
SitiCable to launch interactive channel
MUMBAI: Zee Telefilms’ cable arm SitiCable is planning to launch a 24-hour interactive entertainment channel aimed at family audiences, The Asian Age has reported. Siti has already sought clearance from the information and broadcasting ministry for the project.
The channel, which will be free to air and city specific, has broadly been modelled on the lines of the popular NY1 in New York,which is Time Warner Cable’s exclusive local news channel having live 1-minute news updates every half hour and special shows focussing on local business, politics etc.
SitiCable will leverage on its strength of having its own teleport in Noida thus enabling it to do live interactive programming like FM radio through satellite uplinking.
The programming will consist of live entertainment shows and events, infotainment shows, music on demand,popular serials from Zee library,also interactive film entertainment which the channel claims is a new concept.
In order to make the channel viewer friendly, SitiCable is also planning to run all kinds of helpline services besides doing phone-in programmes, where viewers will be able to highlight their civic problems and concerned authorities will redress their grievances online.
SitiCable has also set up a first ever non-news 24 hour live studio in Delhi. More such studios will come up in other major cities to do city specific programming.
News Broadcasting
Mihir Bhatt appointed as chief content officer at News18 Studios
The media veteran brings two decades of experience across television, digital and radio to one of India’s biggest broadcast networks, Disney+ Hotstar, Discovery+
NEW DELHI: Network18 has a new strategist in the building. Mihir Bhatt, one of Indian media’s more versatile operators, has joined News18 Studios as chief content officer, stepping into a role that will see him shape content strategy, build multi-platform properties and drive brand partnerships across the network.
Bhatt brings more than two decades of experience spanning television, digital and radio, with a track record of doing something rare in Indian media: combining editorial ambition with hard commercial results. At Times Network, where he served as managing editor and chief business officer of Times Influence, he built one of the industry’s more respected content studios, launching marquee properties such as the India Economic Conclave, the Times Now Summit and Leaders of Tomorrow. He also pushed the network into premium OTT territory through tie-ups with Disney+ Hotstar and Discovery+.
His resume stretches well beyond the studio. Bhatt has led Global Investor Summits for multiple state governments, worked alongside the World Economic Forum and played a pivotal role in launching the Indian Pickleball League. Earlier, as editor of Zee Business, he pioneered investor education initiatives that are still cited as industry benchmarks.
At News18 Studios, Bhatt will report to chief executive S Shivakumar and will oversee the studios execution vertical alongside revenue verticals covering emerging markets and campaigns. Sidharth Saini, Hemanth Kumar and Nimar Sarkaria will work under him.
Rahul Joshi, managing director and editor-in-chief of Network18 Group, made the announcement in an internal communication. “Mihir’s ability to build enduring brands, foster strategic partnerships and navigate a rapidly evolving media landscape will be instrumental as we continue to strengthen our position and explore new avenues of growth in the Studios business,” Joshi said.
In a media industry lurching between disruption and reinvention, Network18 has bet on a man who has spent two decades thriving in exactly that chaos. Whether he can do it again, at greater scale, is the question worth watching.
