News Broadcasting
Star Vijay to celebrate Kamal Hassan’s birthday
MUMBAI: If the Hindi Entertainment channels go ballistic over Big B’s birthday celebration, its time for the Tamil entertainment channel Star Vijay to turn on the camera for Tamil superstar Kamal Hassan’s birthday.
Star’s Tamil Entertainment channel has special plans to celebrate Hassan’s 49th Birthday today.
Winner of over three National Awards and 10 Filmfare awards, an actor-director-writer-producer Kamal Hassan has been awarded the Padmashree title. While he has over 200 films to his credit, he achieved a sort of stardom at the young age of three. He won the President’s gold medal for the best child artiste in the first film.
In a bid to build up the relations with the film industry, Vijay TV has slotted a wide array of special programs on the channel, from dawn to dusk, to celebrate the remarkable actor’s birthday, says a company release.
At 8:30am in the morning, Star’s Tamil channel started off the day long celebration with Hello Thamizha. The audience got a chance to wish Hassan live on his birthday, beside the programme featured some of Hassan’s hit songs and unforgettable scenes.
Throughout the day, the channel will be airing special fillers detailing the milestones in the actor’s life. Beside that there channel is flashing birthday wishes to the star all day long.
At 2:00 pm in the movie slotVelli Thirai, Kamal’s memorable silent comedy film Pesum Padam, which was dubbed as Pushpak for the Hindi Audience, starring himself alongside Amala will be featured on the channel.
Whilst the celebrations are on, the highlight of the day is Naayagan at 9:30pm, a one hour slot where Hassan will be sharing his life with the audience. Hassan will take the viewers through some known and some lesser-known episodes in his life, like the part where he worked as a barber in a saloon near his house.
Besides Hassan sharing his life, the programme will also showcase his dear and near ones like brother Charu Hassan, Balu Mahendra, K.Balachander, AVM Saravanan, R.C. Shakti talking about their memorable moments with him.
The channel, to wrap up the day, has a a special mock telephonic interview segment Saghalai vs Raghalai scheduled to air at 10.30 pm, which will showcases his career’s best comedy scenes.
News Broadcasting
BBC to cut up to 2,000 jobs in biggest overhaul in 15 years
Cost pressures and leadership change drive major workforce reduction plan
LONDON: BBC has unveiled plans to cut up to 2,000 jobs, roughly 10 per cent of its global workforce, in what marks its biggest downsizing in 15 years.
The announcement was made during an all-staff meeting led by interim director-general Rhodri Talfan Davies, as the broadcaster moves to tackle mounting financial pressures and reshape its operations.
Between 1,800 and 2,000 roles are expected to be eliminated from a workforce of around 21,500. The cuts form part of a broader plan to save £500 million over the next two years, aimed at offsetting rising costs, stagnating licence fee income and weaker commercial revenues.
In a communication to staff, BBC interim director-general Rhodri Talfan Davies said, “I know this creates real uncertainty, but we wanted to be open about the challenge,” acknowledging the impact the move would have across the organisation.
The restructuring comes at a time of leadership transition. Former director-general Tim Davie stepped down earlier this month, with Matt Brittin, a former Google executive, set to take over the role on May 18, 2026.
While some cost-cutting measures are being implemented immediately, the majority of the structural changes are expected to roll out over the next few years, with full savings targeted by the 2027–2028 financial year.
The broadcaster had earlier signalled its intent to reduce its cost base by around 10 per cent over a three-year period, warning of “difficult choices” as it adapts to shifting economic realities and audience expectations.
With operating costs hovering around £6 billion annually, the BBC’s latest move underscores the scale of the financial challenge it faces, as it balances public service commitments with the need for long-term sustainability in an increasingly competitive media landscape.
