News Broadcasting
Star introduces Junior KBC and a winning couple
The Star India team, along with Kaun Banega Crorepati anchor Amitabh Bachchan and producer Siddharth Basu, yesterday presented to the media Vijay Raul and wife Arundhati, the first Crorepatipatni winners of the jackpot prize Rs 10 million. Star broke the news while providing details of KBC Junior, which premiers on Sunday, 6 May at 10 am.
Coincidentally or otherwise, the episode featuring the two winners will be telecast the very next day, 7 May at 9 PM on Star Plus.
The first winners of the ‘Crorepatipatni’ format of KBC where husband and wife contest as partners on the gameshow hail from Rourkela in the eastern state of Orissa. While Raul is a chief assistant engineer at GAIL in Rourkela, Arundhati is a homemaker.
“They were a most unassuming couple, and I least expected them to win,” Bachchan said. “In fact I was under the impression that they probably wouldn’t get past Rs 10,000. But they certainly took me by surprise once they were on the hotseat,” he said.
KBC Junior is organised around young participants between the ages of 10 to 18. “My heart was palpitating, I am still weak-kneed after having shot two episodes continuously,” said Bachchan in a light vein while expressing how he felt hours after the shoot of two episodes with a bunch of enthusiastic and precocious children.
To arrest the fall in KBC‘s popularity, Star, as part of a strategic move, shifted the Thursday show of KBC to Sunday placing it at an apt spot when other competing channels air mythological programmes. The programme has received a good response from the advertisers, said Sameer Nair, executive vice president programming Star Plus. While Compaq is giving away a personal computer to any child who makes it to the hotseat, irrespective of whether he is a winner or not, the channel has promised gifts to the 10 final participants. The channel is optimistic about getting a positive response for the programmes and are expecting a two digit TRP rating for the show, said Nair.
According to Basu KBC Junior has received an overwhelming response, with over 600,000 phone calls in the three days lines were open.
News Broadcasting
CNN-News18 to host Fury in the Gulf conclave on West Asia crisis
Three-hour summit to unpack geopolitical fallout and impact on India
MUMBAI: CNN-News18 is set to host a special three-hour broadcast, Fury in the Gulf – War Conclave, on April 7, aiming to decode the escalating West Asia crisis and its far-reaching implications for India.
Scheduled from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM, the conclave comes at a time when tensions between Iran and the United States are reshaping global geopolitics and triggering economic uncertainty. With India’s deep energy ties, trade links and large diaspora in the Gulf, the developments carry significant domestic relevance.
Built around the theme ‘Conflict, Consequences, and The Future,’ the programme will feature six curated sessions combining one-on-one interviews and panel discussions. The focus is to cut through the clutter and offer viewers a clearer understanding of the fast-evolving situation.
Key sessions include ‘Diplomacy in Times of War’ featuring Shashi Tharoor, and ‘World After the Iran Conflict’ with voices such as Ram Madhav, Reuven Azar, representatives from the European Union and the Iranian Deputy Envoy. Another session titled ‘Another Dunkirk?’ will bring together K. J. S. Dhillon and Jitin Prasada among others.
CNN-News18 editorial affairs director Rahul Shivshankar said, “In times of war, clarity becomes the most powerful tool. Fury in the Gulf – War Conclave brings together credible voices to address the questions and confusion that arise amid an overwhelming influx of information.”
He added that the initiative is aimed at delivering “facts, perspective, and insight” at a time when misinformation can easily cloud public understanding.
Echoing the sentiment, CNN-News18 CEO– English and business news Smriti Mehra said the conflict marks a defining global moment, with consequences that extend well beyond the region. She noted that the conclave seeks to present the crisis with “depth, nuance and responsibility” so audiences can better grasp its real-world impact.
As geopolitical tensions continue to dominate headlines, the conclave positions itself as an attempt to bring order to the noise, offering viewers a structured, insight-led look at a complex and rapidly shifting global situation.
