News Broadcasting
Zee moves SC, Prasar Bharati also to file suit for telecast rights
MUMBAI / NEW DELHI: The Indian cricket rights imbroglio is fast entering the realm of the theatre of the absurd. Even as Zee Telefilms this morning filed an application before the Supreme Court seeking a direction to the Indian cricket board not to give television coverage rights to Sony TV and Ten Sports, pubcaster Prasar Bharati declared that it would be filing its own writ as an “aggrieved party”.
Zee has submitted that it be should given the telecast rights for the India-Australia Test cricket series starting from 6 October. The court has fixed Tuesday for hearing of the application.
Speaking to indiantelevision com today, Zee Telefilms additional vice-chairman Jawahar Goel said, “We certainly have a strategy and seeking legal recourse is one of them. But let me tell you, millions of fans of cricket in India may miss out on cricket because of some people’s mis-doings.”
Goel reiterated that as the declared highest bidder, Zee Telefilms would not give up easily on something that it thinks is “rightfully” its. “We are sure the court would finally see our point of view too,” he added.
Meanwhile, Prasar Bharati, the third highest bidder for the cricket rights after Zee and ESPN Star Sports at $ 150 million, stated it would be filing its submission before the apex court.
Confirming the move to indiantelevision.com, Prasar Bharati CEO KS Sarma said the decision to approach the courts had come in the wake of the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) announcement yesterday that the board would arrange for the live telecast of the India-Australia series beginning on 6 October through Sony Television Entertainment India.
Sarma said, “As the third highest bidder, we feel we should be rightfully offered the rights for cricket at the price we had bid for. BCCI’s current intentions make us an aggrieved party and we’d move the court next working day (Monday, 4 October).”
As per the BCCI plan, the live feeds would be produced by the Dubai-based Ten Sports network to be shown on a Sony channel.
As the cricket rights saga was unfolding and getting into a legal logjam with parties moving the court, BCCI did try to sell the rights to Prasar Bharati to be shown on Doordarshan, but was rebuffed as the asking price was “high”.
According to Prasar Bharati sources, BCCI had conveyed to DD that even if it offers a dollar more than $ 308 (Zee’s quote), the telecast rights were for the taking.”But when we had bid almost half the amount that, taking into account all aspects, we could not have paid up more on the second invitation,” a source privy to the confabulations between BCCI and DD 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.
