News Broadcasting
Zee Sports to air AFC Cup matches
MUMBAI: Zee Sports will air four matches of AFC Cup Club Championship from 2-16 May from Nehru Stadium Fatorda. The matches will feature Indian Clubs Mahindra United and Dempo Sports Club, Al Ahed of Libya, Al Nasr of Oman, Merv of Turkmenistan and Brother’s Union of Bangladesh.
In the first match on today 2 May 2006, ONGC Cup National Football League title contenders Mahindra United will clash with Al Ahed of Libya. Placed third in group ‘A’, Mahindra United would look to use the home advantage to snatch crucial three points against Al Ahed in the crucial AFC Cup tie.
For the uninitiated the AFC Cup is an annual competition open to clubs from the AFC’s countries as categorised in Vision Asia. The AFC Cup looks to fulfill the Vision Asia goal of a creating a top-class competition for well-managed clubs, played by professional players.
The first edition took place in 2004. The AFC Cup has resided in the West for two years now with Al Jaish of Syria winning the inaugural edition and Al Faisaly of Jordan lifting it last year.
Mahindra’s are placed third in group ”A” with three points from four matches, while Al Ahed of Lebanon are placed second with seven points from four games and also kept their hopes alive for the quarter final of the AFC Cup. In the last encounter between two teams, Al Ahed of Lebanon held Mahindra 2-2.Mahindra will clash with Brother’s Union Bangladesh in their second encounter on May 16.
Dempo Sports Club team will also play two home matches against Al Nasar (Oman) and 16 May against Merv (Turkministan). Both matches would be played at Nehru Stadium Faorda in Margao, Goa.
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.
