News Broadcasting
Vinod Dua to head all Sahara news operations
NEW DELHI: In a swift and major reshuffle of work responsibilities, the Subrata Roy-promoted diversified Sahara India group has brought in ace TV personality Vinod Dua as a consultant and co-ordinator of all proposed news operations, including the various state-specific news channels.
The independent heads of the proposed news channels like Prabhat Dabral, Arup Ghosh and Rajiv Bajaj will now report to Dua who, according to company sources, will also be co-ordinating the financial and other aspects of the up and coming news channels. Dua, in turn, will report to the promoter family and Sumit Roy, in particular, who is the head of Sahara groups entire media and entertainment activities.
Confirming the move, when contacted, Dua told indiantelevision.com, “Yes, I have been entrusted with co-ordinating the work and putting in place the infrastructure for the seven (proposed) news channels at least.”
However, Dua also added that “it was an honorary post” which is the reason as to why he would not like to specify any designation.
Though Dua insisted that his was an honorary responsibility, TV industry sources indicated that he will receive a hefty remuneration packet which equals the pay packet of any other CEO of media companies like Zee Telefilms.
The changes that were effected on Monday were the result of a meeting on Saturday in Lucknow of the bigwigs from Sahara group.
Though the exact reason for the move to bring in Dua over Ghosh, Dabral and Bajaj, effectively curtailing the powers of the three up to a certain extent, is not immediately known, but Sahara insiders indicate that there was resentment amongst the employees of Sahara over the functioning style of the various channel heads.
A source went to the extent of saying that “differences also existed between various channel heads” who had powers to recruit too.
While Dabral, a former Doordarshan reporter, is the head of news channels meant for Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Bihar, Ghosh, a former NDTV star anchor, is the head of the proposed national channel. Bajaj, a former print medium journalist, is the head for the Mumbai news channel.
Dua — one of the first products of Indian television news along with Prannoy Roy during the good old days of Doordarshan — in recent times has been doing news and current affairs (N&CA) shows for Sahara channel which, at present, is a mish-mash of entertainment and N&CA programming.
The three channels which are expected to first get off the block from the Sahara stable early next year (Republic Day, 26 January?) include the Sahara Samay UP, Sahara Samay Mumbai and Sahara Samay national.
News Broadcasting
Times Network to air JVC Exit Poll across 5 regions on April 29
Four-hour broadcast spans states and Puducherry with data-led analysis
MUMBAI: Times Network is set to roll out what it calls one of its most expansive election programming efforts yet, culminating in the JVC Exit Poll on 29 April, with a multi-hour broadcast spanning key poll-bound regions.
The exit poll will air across Times Now and Times Now Navbharat, beginning at 5pm and 4pm respectively. Co-powered by Vedanta and Jindal Stainless, the programming aims to combine on-ground reportage with data-driven projections across West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and Puducherry.
The network has deployed over 50 journalists across these regions, gathering voter sentiment and local insights in the run-up to polling. The effort builds on its ongoing election formats such as Election Yatra and Election Premier League, which have tracked campaign narratives and community-level issues.
In parallel, Times Now Navbharat has focused on constituency-level reporting in West Bengal through its Jan Gan ka Mann series, capturing voter opinions across diverse segments.
The coverage has also featured interviews with prominent political leaders. Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Congress leaders Ramesh Chennithala and V D Satheesan have appeared on the network’s election specials. From Tamil Nadu, voices including deputy chief minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran, BJP leader K Annamalai and NTK’s Seeman have also featured in discussions.
On the day of the exit poll, the network’s primetime anchors, including Navika Kumar, Zakka Jacob and Sumit Awasthi, will lead the coverage. They will be joined by a panel of political analysts, psephologists and senior journalists offering real-time insights and interpretation of trends.
The programming will integrate grassroots reportage with analytics from the JVC Exit Poll, aiming to give viewers an early sense of electoral outcomes ahead of the official results on 4 May.
With its combined English and Hindi broadcast reach, Times Network is positioning this effort as a comprehensive look at voter sentiment, blending field reporting, data and debate to decode what could lie ahead when the final mandate is revealed.
