News Broadcasting
Assembly Elections: Waiting for the Verdict
MUMBAI: After months of campaigning and hectic election activity, people of Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram have spoken. The assembly elections witnessed people coming out to vote in large numbers. Now, it’s up to the Counting Day on December 8 to decide the fate of these states.
On the day of the results, CNN-IBN & IBN7 will bring to its viewers a special day-long programming. ‘Battle for the States’ & ‘Mera Vote Meri Sarkar – Counting Day’ will provide the most precise and comprehensive coverage leading up to the final results.
The shows, featuring exclusive updates and in-depth analyses, will have the most formidable political analysts and commentators of the country: Swapan Dasgupta, Dr. Ramchandra Guha, Manini Chatterjee, K S Sachidananda Murthy, Dr. Sandeep Shastri, Dr. Suhas Palshikar, Kumar Ketkar, Dipankar Gupta and Prof. Rajeeva Karadikar on CNN-IBN; and Harivansh, Sanjay Kumar, Rakesh Sinha, Vivek Kumar and Purushottam Agrawal on IBN7.
Rajdeep Sardesai, Editor-in-Chief, CNN-IBN, IBN7 and IBN-Lokmat, said, “Our counting day special programming aims at givingour viewers the most decisive verdict and the credible reporting on the poll. Our exhaustive and insightful analysis on the counting day will provide the most comprehensive coverage leading up to the final verdict in the five states.”
Ashutosh, Managing Editor, IBN7 said, “IBN network has always been upfront in covering elections. With our day-long counting day special programming we intend to bring to our viewers the most precise and comprehensive coverage as the winners names come in.”
Don’t miss the day-long counting day drama catch the special counting day programming on CNN–IBN & IBN7 on December 8, all day.
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.
