News Broadcasting
Yantra Media looks beyond Sun to rivals
MUMBAI: The southern television space, which is witnessing a boom of sorts in terms of channel launches, is providing increased opportunities for producers. One fallout of this phenomenon of course is the switching of loyalties to rival camps.
In one such move, Yantra Media — a medium-sized production house headquartered in Chennai — has made its exit from the Sun Network. The hitherto Sun-aligned company, promoted by Shyamsundar, is now accepting work outside the Sun camp. Yantra is now producing primetime shows for Zee Telugu and Malayalam network Asianet.
Sun Network signs its production houses as exclusive content partners as the agreement carries a clause which bar producers from working for rival networks.
“The market is booming. Since the last one year, the South witnessed the entry of many new players. Zee will be launching their second regional channel this year. Star is investing more in its South plans. The DTH scenario also looks very encouraging for production houses. So in this changing scenario, I don’t want to miss out on the tremendou
s opportunities that the market offers,” Shyamsundar explains.
Market sources add that there are a few more producers who have been wooed by Sun’s rival channels and were subsequently warned to stay put. When contacted, a Sun executive refused to comment on the reported developments.
Shyamsundar points out that the guaranteed commission model Sun’s rivals offer makes the game less risky for small-sized production houses. “In Sun Network, if your show is not delivering good ratings consistently, then there is a problem. In that case, you need multiple shows to manage the losses, which many can’t afford. So, it is natural for producers to look for other options especially in this scenario,” he points out.
While a half-hour slot on Sun costs in the range of Rs 125,000 to Rs 150,000, Zee Telugu pays the producer an average Rs 80,000 for every half-hour episode, market estimates indicate.
Yantra h
as four successful programmes currently on air in Sun Network. It produces a sitcom Ammayi Lahala in Malayalam and three crime-based shows in Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu. Sun is currently in the process of discontinuing the Yantra-produced shows from its network. Shyamsundar however ruled out the possibility of taking these shows to other networks.
Yantra’s Zee Telugu soap Manasantha Nuuve is placed in the 7:30 pm slot. The production house will launch a political satire CM AM to PM on the channel shortly.
Speaking about Yantra’s association with Asianet, Shyamsundar says he is in fact going back to his ancestral home. It was through Asianet that he got noticed with his blockbuster soap Sthree which ran for more than 500 episodes. Shyamsundar even played a key role in the alliance between Asianet and Zee to launch a Kannada channel c
alled Kaveri, a project that didn’t take off.
Yantra is doing two primetime shows, a sitcom and a soap, for Asianet. The sitcom Sundari Sundari and the soap Thanichu are slotted as dailies. In a gamble of sorts, Asianet has slotted
Sundari Sundari in the Monday to Friday 8:30 pm slot, which directly clashes with the number one Malayalam soap Kavyanjali airing on Surya TV. Coinciding with Yantra’s return, Asianet is also bringing back Sthree in the afternoon band. The one hour daily is slotted for 12 noon.
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.
