News Broadcasting
Sushma Swaraj unsure of when DTH would start
NEW DELHI: India’s information and broadcasting minister Sushma Swaraj told Parliament that it was not possible to indicate as to when KU-band direct-to-home (DTH) service will become operational in the country, even as two applications are pending with the government seeking permission to start it.
In a written reply given in India’s Upper House of Parliament (Rajya Sabha), the Minister said that the decision to start DTH services was taken by the Government in November 2000 and detailed guidelines for it were issued in March last year.
“Two applications have been received seeking permission start DTH service in the country…..It is not possible to indicate when the DTH service will become operational in the country,” Swaraj said. Asked if there was a proposal to review the guidelines originally mandated, the Minister replied in the negative.
Various bodies, including India’s Planning Commission, have in the past have said that the present DTH guidelines, especially those relating to FDI, need to be previewed as the policy has failed to attract any investment till now.
The two companies which, earlier this year, have sought DTH license are Space TV (a Star TV affiliate) and ASC Enterprises Ltd, a company which is promoted by Zee supremo Subhash Chandra and through a subsidiary is implementing India’s first private satellite project called Agrani. Agrani recently also moved an application seeking uplinking permission.
In the month of October, Swaraj had told journalists that the government is studying the applications regarding DTH licence and the procedures are underway. To a question by a scribe as to why a DTH service hadn’ t started till now, Swaraj had said that even the companies looking at starting a DTH service in India “would need some time to firm up their business plans.”
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.
