News Broadcasting
Three news channels set to launch in Telugu
MUMBAI: Down south, fierce competition between Telugu channels continues. Three more news channels are set to launch this year – Hyderabad-based Maa TV and the Sun TV network-owned Teja TV will be unleashing their news channels in two months, while Chennai-based Raj TV’s Telugu channel, Vissa TV, is scheduled to launch Vissa News by December.
All the three will have to contend with early movers TV9 and ETV 2. Of course, the trade will be closely watching the moves made by Chennai-based Sun TV network, which is planning its third channel in Andhra, tentatively named Teja News. In the Telugu entertainment space it is Sun’s Gemini that leads all comers followed by ETV.
Teja TV news bureau chief, Madhu P, told indiantelevision.com that the manpower for the upcoming channel had already been resourced.
“We have already recruited journalists and anchors for our upcoming news channel. Now we are starting the training programmes for our new team. The conceptualisation of programming is currently underway,” he said.
Vissa TV chief news editor Jayaseelan, meanwhile, told indiantelevision.com that his channel was technically very well equipped for the launch. When queried whether the presence of two news channels in Telugu had forced Vissa to launch one of its own, Jayaseelan said the whole idea was to bring original and exclusive news to audiences.
“We are not afraid of competition. Just by having a handful of channels, you can’t survive. To fight the competition, you need to come up with quality content and that is what we are striving for,” he said.
Meanwhile, Maa Television Network assistant marketing manager, Praveen Viswanathan revealed to indiantelevision.com that the channel is reviving plans for a news channel.
“Discussions are going on. We haven’t decided on the name of the channel yet. It will be launched in two months,” Viswanathan told indiantelevision.com.
Viswanathan justified the channel’s decision to enter the fray saying that news has an ever-expanding viewership.
“The trend is like a gold rush. When there is a gold rush, everyone would seek a share,” he said.
The two-year old network had contemplated launching a news channel earlier when ETV 2 and TV9 were launched. But they dropped the idea. Maa Television Network is promoted by a group of young entrepreneurs.
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.
