News Broadcasting
Times Network forays into Hindi news with a bid to create ‘New India’
New Delhi: Making its foray into Hindi news, Times Network on Sunday launched its new channel, Times Now Navbharat HD. The new entrant is being spearheaded by Times Now’s group editor Navika Kumar who will lead the editorial mandate and handle the overall management of the channel.
The channel will be available across all the leading cable operators, MSOs and DTH platforms including Tata Sky, Airtel DTH, Hathway Digital, and DEN Digital, said the network. It has also launched an extensive outdoor campaign for promoting the new brand with a positioning- ‘Ab Badlega Bharat, Banega Navbharat’.
“We are not in the race for TRP,” said Times Network MD and CEO MK Anand at the channel launch, adding that ‘Times Now Navbharat’ is part of the network’s effort to convey people’s correct and accurate message to the government and vice versa.”
“In the world of English news channels, we have been running Times Now with the same resolution for the past 16 years. Issues which we raise at Times Now, they become a topic of discussion among people the next day and reason for a change in the society and political circles. We work tirelessly on such issues and news which are in public interest and also contribute to the welfare of the country and the society. This helps us get TRP organically,” said Anand. “We believe that news has the power to make an impact on our society and also help make it a better place to live in.”
According to Anand a “new India” will emerge only when key and important issues are raised in a right manner, and also when there is a proper communication between people of the country and the government.
The channel was launched with seven prime-time shows hosted by Sushant Sinha, Padmaja Joshi, Ankit Tyagi, and Meenakshi Kandwal. The primetime shows include Rashtravad at 5 pm, Log Tantra at 6 pm, Dhakad Exclusive at 7 pm, Sawal Public Ka at 8 pm, News Ki PaathShala at 9 pm, and Opinion India at 10 pm.
The mega marketing campaign launched across Hindi-speaking markets was conceptualised by McCann Worldgroup India. The network has also unveiled a brand film highlighting the channel’s genesis and brand manifesto written by noted lyricist Prasoon Joshi.
Apart from print ads in leading English and Hindi dailies, the network has launched an extensive outdoor promotion spanning across 400 sites across 19 cities including Mumbai, Delhi, Lucknow, Patna, Jaipur, Dehradun, Indore, Punjab, Raipur and Varanasi. Kent RO System, Century Ply, Radico Khaitan, Vedanta, Medibuddy, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Darwin Platform Group of Companies, Mylab Discovery Solutions, Meghdoot Herbal, Kirloskar Brothers are some of the advertisers currently onboard.
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.
