News Broadcasting
Zee FY-02 results on 29 April; to mull hike in FII stake limit
Subhash Chandra’s Zee Telefilms, which has been on the lookout for a strategic investor to Zee for a while now, plans to raise its overseas holding by 19 per cent from the present 30 per cent to 49 per cent.
The Zee Telefilms’ board has scheduled a meeting on 29 April to discuss this matter, as well as consider the financial results for the fourth quarter and the year ended 31 March, 2002.
The news that overseas holding is to go up follows close on the heels of a report put out last week by the Press Trust of India that the Zee’s promoters have diluted their stake by seven per cent to bring it down to 52.78 per cent as of 31 March, 2002.
Of the 52.78 per cent promoter stake, foreign promoters (including overseas corporate bodies) hold 29.46 per cent share while the Indian promoters hold the remaining 23.32 per cent stake, the report, sourcing information available with the stock exchanges, said.
Promoter stake has been falling steadily in Zee Telefilms for more than two years now. It stood at 66.59 per cent in March 2000. Over these two years, promoters have reduced their exposure by a whopping 14 per cent.
Besides changes in the promoter equity, FIIs have increased their stake in ZTL to 33.88 per cent from 24.71 per cent or by just over nine per cent over the last 12 months.
The stake held by the public stands at 6.51 per cent, down from 7.59 per cent on 31 March 31, 2001. Private Corporate Bodies as well as the category of NRIs/OCBs held steady at 6.14 per cent and 0.69 per cent respectively over most of last fiscal, the report said.
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.
