News Broadcasting
ZTL, Padmalaya reach accord; land part of deal
MUMBAI: Zee Telefilms Ltd (ZTL) has reached a settlement with the promoters of Padmalaya companies, whom it had accused of misappropriation of shares.
According to the agreement, ZTL will be given 21,000 sq metres of land in Padmalaya Studios located in Hyderabad. The valuation of the property is close to Rs 500 million, says a source in Zee Telefilms. Consequent to this, ZTL will completely exit from Padmalaya.
Zee is likely to write off Rs 100 million as it had invested Rs 590 million in acquiring a majority stake in Padmalaya. ZTL had taken a 64 per cent stake in Padmalaya Enterprises Pvt LTD (PEPL). PEPL formed the holding company and held a 50.3 per cent controlling stake in Padmalaya Telefilms LTD (PTL), a listed company.
Already 17,000 sq metres has been transferred to ZTL, says the source. Padmalaya Studios is a privately held company by the promoters of Padmalaya and has land in the prime locality of Hyderabad.
“We are expecting the remaining 4,000 sq metres to be transferred within two months,” he adds. Zee is planning to sell the land to recover its investments in Padmalaya.
As part of the settlement, ZTL will also get back Zee Institute of Creative Arts (ZICA) which had been transferred to Padmalaya. ZICA is a training institute specialising in animation. “We wanted to protect the interests of the animation students,” the source says.
ZTL had earlier accused Padmalaya founder-promoter GA Seshagiri Rao, along with his relatives, of pledging PEPL’s shares in PTL to raise loans without the knowledge of the board. As a result of the misappropriation, PEPL’s holding in PTL has dropped from 50.3 per cent to about 20 per cent. Zee’s indirect interest in PTL had, as a result, fallen from 33 per cent to around 13 per cent.
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.
